The Scattering of House Ecaz
by Zaphod-Harkonnen
Summary: A crossover between Halo and Dune. It is set 300yrs before the events of Heretics of Dune for the Dune forces and around the time of the Fall of Reach for Halo
1. The Exodus

Author's Note

This is my first ever fanfic and reviews would be much appreciated.

Halo belongs to Bungie and Dune to the Herbert Ltd Partnership.

* * *

Prolouge – The Exodus

_--_The Ecaz-_-_

"Michael, open up a channel to the fleet." said Admiral Brian Ecaz as he entered the bridge of The Ecaz.

"Channel open sir and I also ordered the commanders to send the address throughout their ships." replied Vice Admiral Michael Young

"Thank you Micheal" Brian said as he approached the largest of the viewports on the bridge. He took a few seconds to prepare before he bagan to speak. "Men and women of the fleet, as you know, never since the death of the Tyrant have the ships of House Ecaz gathered in such numbers. Once again we have gathered to protect ourselves from harm. Recently, families loyal to House Ecaz have returned from the scattering. They bring back disturbing news of an approaching tempest that will destroy House Ecaz and the remanents of the Imperium." He paused to allow those in the fleet a small respite, continuing he said, "The factions wielding the power of death wish to destroy us. My father the Honerable Duke Simon Ecaz decided to order a significant portion of our star navy and people to escape into the uncharted territories where we can make use of the annoynymity to escape and continue our lives. We will blaze a new trail for mankind and we will prosper after each challenge that we face." Brian quickly turned around and looked the bridge crew. "All ships, prepare to jump in one hour with the co-ordinates provided by your commanders." He began to head to his quarters when a voice spoke over the silent channel, quickly looking at Michael for an answer he said,

"The captain of the HES Wellington has piggybacked on our channel and is addressing the fleet himself."

"_Those of you who doubt the decision of our Duke do not anymore,_" Captain Johno Prebble thundered, "_Our Duke has sent us on the easy mission, we will only have to fight nature where we are going but, our Duke will be facing a sealed fate. All of you know the history of our glorius House and for the past 500yrs, each Duke has been more impressive than the last. Our Duke will give these devils a scar they will never forget. If you think that we're running away don't. Each and every one of us that knew in advance tried to stay behind and fight but the Duke ordered each of us to go. House Ecaz will live on and we will survive and prosper. THREE CHEERS FOR THE DUKE AND HIS SON OUR NEW DUKE! HIP HIP!_"

"_HORRAY!_" The Ecaz rumbled as each and every crewman shouted at the top of their lungs.

"_HIP HIP! HORRAY! HIP HIP! HORRAY!_"

Brian quickly walked to his quarters after informing Michael to call him to the bridge when the fleet was ready to jump.

Sitting at his desk 10 minutes later, Brian looked at the final tally of the ships accompanying him into the scattering. Over a million souls were now under his direct command. After Prebbles speech they would follow him into death itself without a second thought. Sighing, Brian stood and approached the sole window in his office. Touching the sensor plate on the wall, the lights dimmed, the curtains drew back and the armor plating on the outer hull rose.

There it was, the largest fleet ever gathered by House Ecaz. Every type of ship was represented, Battleships to Frigates, Corvettes to Carriers, Colony ships to the ever present lighter.Over 1000 fold capable ships at last count and that figure was over two hours old. Brian had counted 50 more ships since then and those were the ones he saw. Serenly, four fighters flew past his window heading towards the main landing bay. In the distance he could see hundreds of shuttles and fighters heading back preparing for their escape.

Lost in thought, Brian stood staring out of the window for over half an hour until he heard his console beeping in the background. As he turned around, he touched the sensor plate again to close the window. After reaching his desk he touched the mouth icon, seven seconds later Micheal's face flashed onto the screen.

"_Admiral_" Micheal said acknowledging Brian, "_The fleet will be ready shortly, I recommend you proceed to the bridge presently._"

"Thank you for informing me Micheal" Brian replied with a slight feeling of sadness heard in his voice.

Locking down the console, Brian stole a quick glance at the curtained window. Knowing that he would never see any of the old Imperium again. He headed to the door.

As Brian walked through the corriders of The Ecaz, he saw the apprehension and hope in every person he passed. They all knew they would never see their birthplaces again, but they would not die without giving it their best shot. They would not let House Ecaz die now.

Entering the bridge, Brian saw that the new watch was already on duty, and that Micheal had chosen the best on the ship for this rotation. He silently thanked his friend for that. It would be hard enough leaving his farther behind to die.

"Operations, inform me when when all ships have signaled ready." Ordered Brian.

"Aye sir"

Looking once more out of the bridge viewport. Brian watched as the final ships came into formation around The Ecaz.

"Sir, all ships report as ready." Said the operations officer.

"Affirmative Ops. Comms, open a channel to the fleet."

"Aye, sir. Channel open."

"Men and women of the fleet, we will return someday. All ships, Jump."

The Ecazian feet disappeared into the realm of foldspace, leaving the troubles of the returning scattered ones behind and headed into a war of survival they never expected.


	2. The Entrance

Chapter 1 – The Entrance

* * *

--On board the Ecaz--

"Damage report" Admiral Brian ordered as he watched the blast plates move off the viewport. They had exited foldspace after one of the roughest journey's that he had ever experienced As the blast plates fished moving he could see that his ship and the rest of the fleet were now in orbit of a gas giant.

"The fleet reports minimal damage and casualties sir." A Lieutenant replied.

Acknowledging the report, Brian headed towards the rear of the bridge and asked the navigation station, "Where are we?"

"Unknown sir." was the reply "I think the navicomps are malfunctioning after the ride through slipspace. I'm running a diagnostic to see what's wrong. It should be finished soon sir." The screen in front of the first-lieutenant flashed. "Well speak of the Tyrant."

Looking at the screen, the Admiral said, "Well the navicomp is fine so, where are we?"

"Sir" said the officer shakily while gesturing to the starchart displayed on the screen. "The problem is that the navicomp can't find where we are with certainty. Certain stars are not where they should be, while others are not present at all. The only stars that I can find that are where they should be are the ones for Beta Centarum, Ecaz and Rakis."

"Very well, lieutenant" Turning towards Micheal he asked quietly. "Any ideas?"

"Sir, with the data at hand, I cannot be sure."

"Well guess."

"There are only two theories that I know of that could fit the events. Either we have traveled through time or we aren't in our own universe anymore. Both are theories that are still being researched back on Ecaz and in the old Imperium. None have been proven though, the amount of variables went into the millions." Micheal told the Admiral in a toneless voice of a mentat in his realm.

"Well at least they can't find us here." Brian whispered quietly to himself.

--Bene Gesserit Command Ship, Taskforce Ecaz--

The Reverend Mother Kethve Siave quietly observed Captain Setros go about his work of trailing the Ecazian fleet to wherever it was heading. She was more confused by the composition of her 'taskforce' For some reason it had been decided that over 40 ships were needed to follow the Ecazian fleet. And several other ships tracking portions of the ships that had arrived here they had been attached to her command. She kept having a sense of foreboding from her other memories and she knew she wouldn't like the reason when she learnt it.

"Sir, The Ecaz is transmitting a message in the clear. I'm putting it through to the bridge speakers now. An officer said.

"Affirmative"

"_...ch numbers. Once again we have gathered to protect ourselves from harm. Recently, families loyal to house Ecaz have returned from the scattering. They bring proof of an approaching tempest that will destroy House Ecaz and the remnants of the Imperium." He paused to allow those in the fleet a small respite, continuing, "The factions wielding the power of death wish to destroy us. My father the Hon. Duke Simon Ecaz decided to order a significant portion of the entire star navy to escape into the uncharted territories where we can make use of the anonymity to escape and continue our lives. We will blaze a new trail for mankind and we will prosper after each challenge that we face. All ships, prepare to jump in one hour with the co-ordinates provided by your commanders."_

A few minutes later the comms officer informed the Captain "Sir, the jump co-ordinates have been received from the agent in the Ecazian fleet, they have been inputted into the navigator."

"Affirmative, after they jump, follow them in." the Captain ordered.

--UNSC Station Fryberg--

Another day, another death thought the commanding officer of the Fryberg, Commander Johann, as he approached the CnC. Entering it he took over from the 'night' shift and sat down to get some paperwork done. Heh, even when we are at the edge of extinction, there is still paperwork to be done he thought.

The command center was the safest part on the Fortress class starbase. Nestled near the reactors the room was full of moniters. The front wall was covered in a large screen. In the center there was a dais where the commanding officer was seated.

About 5 minutes after Commander Johann started, General Quarters alarms started blaring. Turning to the sensor station he shouted, "What the hell is going on?"

"Sir, hundreds of contacts have just appeared in orbit of K33!" screamed the sensor chief.

"Show me."

The main display suddenly flashed and the image of an alien fleet appeared onscreen.

"Initiate the Cole Protocol now!" shouted Commander Johann "Arm all weapons and prepare the Super MAC's but do NOT open fire. Those ships do not fit any Covenant silhouettes known. Initiate First Contact protocols" Spinning around to the holo tub on his desk, Johann said, "Joan, I need an analysis and suggestions right now."

The holo tub winked on and the image of a young girl in armor plating with logic symbols racing up and down her shield appeared.

"Sir, I agree with your analysis that the ships that have just appeared are not Covenant. I suggest launching a single communications drone towards, but not straight at the alien fleet." Said Joan.

"Agreed. Weapons control. Launch a single comms drone towards the alien fleet and route all attempts for communication through it."

"Aye, aye sir" replied the ensign.

"Comm's, inform Fleet Command of our situation and send them a data dump." Ordered Commander Johann.

Glancing at the tactical display, Johann saw the drone symbol slowly head towards the alien fleet. All he could do now was wait and hope.


	3. First Contact

Chapter 2 – First Contact

* * *

--The Ecaz.--

"Sir! Sensors have detected a large artificial structure around the fourth planet!" An officer shouted.

Admiral Brian sprinted over to the sensor station with Micheal following behind closely.

"Show me."

"Aye sir."

The screen flashed once and a station appeared with several smaller stations near it came into view.

"Does it match anything in our database?"

"Negative, sir." The officer replied, "Wait a second sir." The image on the screen disappeared and was replaced by the image of a small probe. "Sensors have detected a small object heading towards us. It is broadcasting a repeating signal. Putting it on speakers now."

"_This is the United Nations Space Command Station Fryberg to alien ships, you have entered UNSC space. Please identify yourselves. We will not attack you. Please respond. This is the United Natio..."_

"I think it's a greeting message sir." Suggested Micheal.

"Send the message down to the communications lab." Brian ordered, turning around he addressed Micheal. "Do you know what that was?"

"I could only understand a few words sir. If I was to guess, it would be an offshoot of Galach. All I could pick up was identify and attack. Sir, I think we have encountered a lost colony of humans that has a form of Galach. I suggest we remain at battle stations until we figure out what they want."

--Bene Gesserit Command Ship--

Reverend Mother Kethve stayed absolutely still while the message she had just heard played itself in her mind again. She knew exactly what it said, but her other memories could not confirm that this ever happened in history. Humans never built any structures like that station, and there never was a group called the UNSC. Something had happened beyond any comprehension.

"Captain Setros. Inform the fleet it is to jump to the suspected co-ordinates of Chapterhouse. And have a ship scout the area of Rakis."

"Yes mam." He said. "Comms! Relay the message now. We jump in the hour."

--On board The Ecaz--

"Admiral, the communications lab has found a match for this language in the archives. It is called English. The problem is that the data is not complete." An ensign informed the Admiral.

"Were they able to translate the message?" Admiral Brian asked.

"The translation is incomplete, but it seems as though we have entered into the territory of the United Nations Space Command. They say they will not attack us and ask us to respond."

"Can we?"

"In a way sir. The response won't be perfect."

"Taken into account ensign. Tell the communications lab to send a copy of the translation protocols to each communications server in the fleet. And inform me when they're ready." Ordered the Admiral.

"Aye, sir" The ensign moved over to his station to begin the transfer.

A few minutes later the Admiral's display flashed. Tapping the flashing icon the ensign he had just spoken to said, "_The server is ready sir. If you would like to dictate your reply we will try and make sure the translation is correct._"

"Well done ensign Begin recording. 'This is the Leader of House Ecaz. We have no intention of attacking you. We would like to have a meeting to establish relations with your House or group within the next two weeks. Please respond on this frequency In your language. We are transmitting a basic dictionary on another frequency. Please respond if you can find it.' Send it by me for approval.

"_Aye, sir_" was the response.

A few minutes later the icon began flashing. Touching it the ensign spoke. "_Sir, here is the finished copy. Changes were necessary. We believe we do have the closest replacement words._"

"Fine work ensign" encouraged the Admiral as he looked over the script. "Comms, open a channel over all frequencies."

"Channels opened sir."

"Affirmative" replied the Admiral standing up. "This is the Leader of House Ecaz to the United Nations Space Command. We have no intention of assaulting you. We would like to have a meeting to start relations with your House or group within two standard weeks. Thank you respond on this frequency in your language or ours if you can translate it. We are transmitting a basic dictionary of our language on another frequency. Thank you respond if you can find it."

_--_UNSC Fyberg-_-_

"SIR! We have an incoming transmission through the probe, putting on speakers now!" An officer shouted.

A male voice filtered through the speakers. _"...der of House Ecaz to the United Nations Space Command. We have no intention of assaulting you. We would like to have a meeting to start relations with your House or group within two standard weeks. Thank you respond on this frequency in your language or ours if you can translate it. We are transmitting a basic dictionary of our language on another frequency. Thank you respond if you can find it."_

Commander Johann looked at the speakers quizzically. "Joan, did you understand more of that than I did."

Smirking Joan replied, "Yes sir. I have picked up their transmission for the dictionary and have started preparing new translation protocols. If you wish I can give you a proper translation now."

"Thank you Joan. Put the translation on my console." Said Johann.

"Aye sir. Here it is."

Looking at his console Johann read the new translation. It said.

TRANSLATION

"This is the Leader of House Ecaz to the United Nations Space Command. We have no intention of attacking you. We would like to have a meeting to begin relations with your House or group within three weeks. Please respond on this frequency in your language or ours if you can translate it. We are transmitting a basic dictionary of our language on another frequency. Please respond if you can find it."

END TRANSLATION

"Any response from Fleet Command?"

"Yes sir, the reply was just received. You are ordered to do what you deem necessary and a diplomatic first contact team has been dispatched." Said the Communications officer.

"Tell Fleet Command that their message has been received." Said the Commander, "Joan, I need to reply to the aliens. How far are the new translation protocols to completion?"

"Nearly done sir. I should be able to translate a message to them now if you want to. Their language is surprisingly close to modern English." replied Joan.

"Understood. Comms open a channel on the frequency used by the aliens."

"Channel open sir."

"Joan, I'll need you to translate on the fly. You have my authority to translate and adjust my voice to sound like me."

"Understood sir."

Standing, Johann approached the edge of the dais and started speaking. "To the leader of House Ecaz. This is Commander Samuel Johann of the United Nations Space Command. We accept your offer for a meeting within three weeks. We have also detected to dictionary you have been transmitting. In response will will send ours on a frequency slightly higher than this one. As the ranking officer in this area of United Nations space. I welcome you to our territory." Finishing his speech, Johann told Joan to send their dictionary to the aliens.

--In orbit of Rakis--

The Bene Gesserit ship Srhesta exited foldspace after an uneventful journey. The commanding officer quickly ordered all power to be sent to the scanners to search for worms. Two hours later he had found what he was looking for. He quickly ordered his ship back to the command ship.


	4. Meeting

Chapter 3 -- Meeting

* * *

--Ecazian Lighter--

Admiral Brian, now the official head of House Ecaz, sat in one of the seats of his own personal lighter. Two weeks had passed since their first contact with a group called the UNSC. After exchanging dictionaries, both sides made preparations for the first meeting. In between all the internal military and council meetings the Duke had to learn English. Thankfully, he thought, the extensive education he received in languages as a child paid off, and now he had a basic command of the English language. Glancing around the cramped interior, Brian saw his second-in-command, Michael Young conversing with two of the Diplomatic Corp. Looking out of the armored viewport, Brian could see the Fryberg hanging in orbit of a blue planet. The voice of the pilot came through the speakers.

"Fryberg control, this is the lighter Ecaz Prime requesting permission to dock."

"_Affirmative Ecaz Prime, follow the Longsword escorts to docking bay five._" Replied the traffic controller.

"Affirmative Fryberg control."

Two small blocky ships formed up in front of the lighter and guided it to docking bay 5. The pilot lined the lighter up and proceeded into the air lock per the instructions that had been transmitted to the fleet. As the lighter cleared the outer doors, the pilot lowered the lighter onto the deck and shut down the engines but kept the reactor warm just in case.

Everyone in the lighter stood up and headed towards the small airlock in the lighter. The Duke remained at the back of the line while the honor guard prepared. A small green light flashed indicating that the pressure had been equalized. Both airlock doors were opened and a set boarding stairs unfolded from their storage cavity. The honor guard quietly marched down the stairs with their ceremonial swords bared and shields activated. Following the honor guard, the two members of the Diplomatic Corp and Michael walked onto the station. Finally, the Duke slowly walked down the stairs and waited to be welcomed by the UNSC representatives.

--UNSC Fryberg--

Commander Johann stood in the cavernous docking bay 5 on the Fryberg. All around him were Longswords, Pelicans, and numerous other spaceships. But the corner of the bay he was at was spotless. Two Longswords flanked the area where the Duke's shuttle would be stopped. All the personal were dressed in their best dress uniforms. Those that were on duty had been issued a new uniform. Everything was running as smooth as could be hoped. Walking down the red carpet that had been brought with the Diplomats, Samuel decided thought over what he had been told to do a few hours ago. The head Ambassador had told him and his staff that since they had the most experience with these aliens, they would be heading up the first meeting. Sam was a bit annoyed, he wasn't a diplomat but at least the Ambassador said he would be there just in case.

Johann's comlink beeped. Grabbing it it opened up a channel and listened.

"_Sir, the Ecazian shuttle is entering the airlock right now._" Said the ops officer.

"Acknowledged" replied Johann as he heard a dull thunk signifying the outer airlock doors had sealed. Raising his voice above the hissing noise Johann said, "Alright everyone, they're coming through right now. Everyone get to your positions."

Everyone started jogging to their spots as the inner airlock doors hummed open. Looking at the Ecazian shuttle Johann saw several obvious weapons protruding from the front and back. He noticed that the pilot was very skilled because the shuttle was already slowly heading towards the landing area and there were only minute puffs coming from the aliens control surfaces. Quickly their gear come down and the Ecazian shuttle landed softly in the exact area that had been agreed upon.

A few minutes later the airlock on the shuttle opened and several soldiers marched out. Johann saw that the air around them shimmered. He made a mental not to ask Joan about it later. Then four other people exited the shuttle with, if the pictures were true, the leader of House Ecaz following behind.

Standing at attention, Johann reviewed in his head the final data he had received that morning, it contained the list of those attending and the photos of each delegate as well. Johann waited until the The Duke had stepped out of the shuttle and then headed towards him. Coming to a stop ten paces in front of the Duke, Johann saluted him and said, "On behalf of the UNSC, I, Commander Johann, formally welcome you to the UNSC station Fryberg."

Returning the salute the Duke replied, "And on behalf of House Ecaz, I greet you.

With the pleasantries over, both men approached each other and shook hands in the UNSC fashion while a photographer took pictures, to be published when the new aliens were revealed to the public. After the photo-op, both delegations headed towards the main conference room on board the Fryberg.

Entering the room, the Duke looked around and noticed that the wood paneling and fixtures were done by hand, and the windows overlooked the beautiful world below. Waiting until everyone had seated themselves, the head ambassador of the UNSC delegation, Ambassador Georgette Binchy, nodded at Commander Johann to say his set piece. Slowly standing up, Johann inwardly cursed the fates that chose him to say this. But he went on anyway. "Duke Ecaz, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our space, but there is one piece of business that my superiors have told me to get out of the way. For the past several years we have been at war with an alien race that has completely outclassed us, we are losing and if we cannot stop them soon we will be hunted into extinction. Therefore, by the orders of the UNSC government, I have been told to ask you to ally with us and destroy this threat to our race." Feeling dirty, Johann slumped back down.

Thinking it over quickly the Duke knew that he could not enter a conflict with an unknown enemy without a good reason. He replied, "Until we know more about this alien race, I cannot commit the forces of House Ecaz to a conflict of interstellar proportions. I apologize and hope this will not affect our talks too much."

The holographic projector in the center of the table came to life, and an image of a young girl in armor plating with logic symbols racing up and down her shield appeared. She faced the Duke and almost shouted. "Duke Ecaz, from my initial scans, each of your ships is an even match for any Covenant vessel of comparable size. Your flagship has power readings beyond anything I have seen before. The human race is on the brink of extinction, we need your help and you could save us."

Looking at the hologram the Duke wondered about the girl and why there were moving symbols all over her image. Responding to the outburst he asked, "Commander Johann, who is this and why does she think we can enter a fight without knowing the sides first.

Inwardly fuming at Joan for her outburst he replied to the Duke's inquiry. "This is the Fryberg's AI, Her name is Joan and I apologize for her outburst. She will be reprimanded after our meeting."

All of the Ecazian delegation except for the Duke and Micheal leaped up and backed away from the hologram. They suddenly started screaming curses and prepared to attack the hologram. The Duke spun around, fell into battle language and shouted at them, "STAND DOWN, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT FROM OUR TIME AND PLACE. SO, YOU WILL STAND DOWN, OR I WILL MAKE YOU STAND DOWN!"

Staring at their leader, one of the diplomats replied, "They enslaved our people many millenia ago. We learnt our lesson then and we cannot let it live."

The Duke laughed, "You think that these people will just allow you into their computer core to destroy something that they live with every day? You've had the best education House Ecaz could provide and you do this? Pathetic. You are all dismissed, return to the Ecaz as soon as this meeting is finished. You will also be quiet until we leave. If any of you speak out again I will remove your ability to speak up. Now sit down!" Looking back at the UNSC delegation who were now flanked by guards the Duke spoke. "I sincerely apologize for my diplomat's actions. If you wish to punish him I will turn him over to your custody." Sitting back down he continued, "Over 10,000 years ago, our ancestors fought an enemy they had created. Thinking machines. Trillions died over a hundred years. Ever since then we have never let an artificial intelligence live. We had grown soft thinking we were the best, we had robots to serve on us hand and foot, and Artificial Intelligence's to watch over the daily running of everything. Over time though, they enslaved us, we had been conquered by our own creation. It took hundreds of years to throw this yoke of enslavement off of our shoulders. But we succeeded, and vowed never to create machines in the likeness of a human mind again." Recently though, we have created machines that skirt those prohibitions."

The others that had stood up stared at the Duke for several seconds, and, as their sense returned to them, they sat themselves back down. The Duke made a subtle hand gesture to the honor guard that had just rushed in at he sound of the shouting. Seeing the order, they resumed their posts outside the conference room doors. Commander Johann waited several seconds then ordered his security troops to resume their posts.

Joan was thinking like crazy, she had to find a way out or an alliance would have no hope of existing. Suddenly she crossed an idea. Turning back towards the Duke she asked, "Duke Ecaz, were these AI's created by humans or from humans?"

Looking at the hologram quizzically the Duke replied, "From the Oral History, we understand that they were made by humans. Why do you ask?"

Wondering if such a thing as luck existed for a second, Joan said, "All AI's in our society are created from humans. Before a person dies, they are allowed to decide if they want to serve the human race even after they leave this place. If they meet certain criteria, they are placed on a list that is watched constantly. When they die, their brain is surgically removed and the organ has electricity pulsed through it. The paths that the neurons have made are copied into a crystal matrix and then we help our human brethren from beyond the grave so to speak. So, in reality, we are a natural intelligence in an artificial medium. To add to this, no smart AI is given control of important systems without a mechanical override present."

As Joan finished, a wave of cold relief passed through the Duke, if these people had created AI's then he would have had to jump away or face a mutiny from the entire fleet. His people needed all the information they could get if they were to survive in a now apparently hostile place. Glancing at his own delegation, Brian said in battle language, "You have all heard what the AI said, they are not AI's but humans serving their own kind from beyond death. If I hear any rumors of a Jihad, you will all pay with your life." Turning back towards the UNSC delegation he said in English, "I hope this incident will be understood as a simple cultural misunderstanding. As a suggestion to stop this from happening again, I propose an exchange of information on our histories."

Looking at the Duke squarely in the eyes, Ambassador Binchy replied, "That would be an excellent idea Duke Ecaz." He then nodded at an aide who walked off to have the information prepared.

The Duke also nodded leaned over to Micheal and told him to contact the fleet and send an abridged version of our history over with two historian mentats to help the UNSC understand them.

Ambassador Binchy waited for the Duke to finish and then said, "Why don't we return to business. My first question is how did you get here?"

The Duke glanced and Micheal and seeing a slight nod decided to tell them the truth. "Ambassador, my House was fleeing an enemy that would surely destroy us when they arrived. We had headed towards the reaches of known space and decided to head through a portion of space known for it's unknown properties, when we jumped, we were thrown into this universe. In realty therefore, we are from a parallel universe to yours, and there is no known way to us to return."

The Ambassador stared at the Duke for several seconds before replying, "Duke Ecaz, that is an impressive story for us to believe in one meeting. With this new information, I believe we will have to call this meeting short so I can refer to our scientists and my superiors on how to proceed."

Before the Duke could reply, Commander Johann who had been watching the proceedings carefully asked, "Duke Ecaz, when you said you jumped, what did you mean?"

Looking at the Commander, the Duke saw eyes that had seen to much death, hoping for something to save him, deciding to reply truthfully he said, "Jumping or folding is our method of faster than light travel. When we engage our projectors, space is folded around the ship and it provides extremely quick travel between even galaxies."

The UNSC delegation was stunned into silence for a few seconds until the Ambassador decided to speak.

"In light of this new information, I would like to call this first meeting to a close. Duke Ecaz, it would be our pleasure if you would stay on the station but you are under no obligation too and due to the incident you may want to deal with it your own way on your own ship."

Weighing all the options, the Duke replied, "I am afraid I cannot accept your offer of hospitality but my second-in-command, Vice Admiral Micheal Young" gesturing to Micheal "will stay behind so you have a representative present at all times. Is this satisfactory?"

"Very much so Duke Ecaz. I hope your trip back to your ship is uneventful."

The Ambassador and his aides quickly walked out of the door to prepare for the next meeting.

Turning to Micheal, Brian said, "You know what to do. Be diplomatic but gather what information you can through observation. I will want daily reports. I'll send some equipment with the histories. If they ask be truthful, I feel we can trust these people for the most part. Any thoughts?"

"The senior officers and personnel are extremely stressed. I suggest that we find out as much as we can about this Covenant as soon as possible"

"Agreed. Do what you can. Good luck my friend."

"And you to M'Lord."

The two friends departed, one following the station Commander to quarters while the other headed back to the Ecaz.


	5. War

Chapter 4 – War

* * *

_--_UNSC Fryberg_--_

"_Good Morning Ambassador_." Said Admiral Copper

"Hello Admiral, I've contacted you to talk about the aliens we have encountered over in the Epsilon Khari system." Replied Binchy.

"_I'm listening._"

"Well. As you already know, we have been having trouble in getting these aliens to ally with us in our fight against the Covenant. If the scans of the alien fleet are correct, they would be invaluable allies. The Commander of the UNSC Fryberg seems to have struck up a friendly relationship with the aliens High Command. Therefore I suggest we propose an officer exchange between us. Hopefully learning more about the Covenant will get them to ally with us." Said Binchy.

"Hmmmmm... Interesting idea. Are you sure it will work?" Asked the Admiral

"No sir, but at the moment I believe we have no choice."

Suddenly an aide walked through the door and approached the Ambassador saying, "Mr. Binchy, the Duke Ecaz requests your presence."

Acknowledging the message Binchy turned back to the screen, "Sorry sir but I will have to cut this short. Can I ask for an officer exchange though?"

"_Your request is approved. Just make sure they get on our side soon. We need them._"

"Thank you Admiral." Said Binchy as he terminated the link. Turning to the aide he said, "Okay, take me to the shuttle."

Silently the aide turned and lead the way to a waiting Pelican.

_--_Landing Bay 1 on The Ecaz-_-_

Standing in the observation room the Duke watched the Pelican head through the inner set of airlock doors and quickly land on the deck. As the rear doors opened on the Pelican he could see the head Ambassador from the UNSC walk out clutching a briefcase. Most likely full of papers, communication devices and jammers. The Officer in charge of the flight bay walked up to the Ambassador and escorted him to a waiting room and told him the Duke would be along presently. Using the extra seconds this gave him the Duke reviewed the information that he had come across in the war between the UNSC and the Covenant. If the information given to them was correct, then House Ecaz would go to war. Total genocide of a sentient species was something he couldn't sit by and watch. It went against everything he had been taught by his tutors and father. Time to find out the truth the Duke thought as he headed to the waiting room. Stepping through the door he said, "Thank you Ambassador for coming on such short notice."

"No problem Duke Ecaz." Replied Binchy, "I had no functions to attend to today."

"If you would follow me Ambassador, we can head to my office to discuss why I asked you over here." Asked the Duke.

"As you wish." Said Binchy smiling.

Walking through the corridors Binchy was impressed at how large this ship was. Larger than any ship constructed by the UNSC and probably the Covenant he thought, and they have artificial gravity as he bounced on his heels walking along.

After leading the Ambassador to his office, Brian sat in his chair and invited the Ambassador to sit down. Initiating the conversation, he said, "Ambassador Binchy, in my study of your recent history I came across a part that disturbed me greatly. It says that the Covenant, after gaining a human controlled world, systematically destroy it from pole to pole. It also states that they stated their intentions to exterminate you. In my home space, no matter how desperate you were, you never destroyed a habitable world. Even though we have devices the size of a person that can split a planet in two."

Shocked at this new information, it took the Ambassador several seconds to compose a response, "Duke Ecaz, what you have read is true, I have seen it with my own two eyes. Does this mean you will ally with us?"

"Not yet." Was the Duke's reply, "If it would be possible, could we interview some of your people to check that this is the truth."

Puzzled by this request Binchy asked, "How would you know if what our troops say is the truth and not some well fabricated lie?"

"We have people called Truthsayers in your language. They have an ability to see if someone is telling the truth no matter what they do. They are trained to enhance this ability and are aides to every single person who holds power. I myself have several under my direct command. What I would like is to have one of these people present as one of my officers interviews your men. Depending on the results we may or may not join your fight. Remember, we are only a few million people all up and we do not have the infrastructure to fight a large scale conflict at the moment."

"Understood, I will ask the station Commander if he can find some men that fill your requirements. I would also choose to participate in this interview process." Said Binchy.

"That will not be necessary Ambassador, I have had this conversation monitored by a truthsayer and mentat of mine. I am sorry I had to resort to these measures but in my universe, this is standard fare. Plus you haven't told us everything and neither have we told you everything. For example, in the histories you gave us, your home planet of Earth was mentioned but the co-ordinates were never given. So I ordered my mentats and navigation department to find Earth, it took many days but after piecing together many separate pieces of data we have found it." Typing a command into his console a hologram formed over the table, it showed the precise co-ordinates of Earth.

Even after years experiencing the arena of politics and diplomacy, Binchy was lost for words at this display of power. Regaining his composure he said, "Duke Ecaz, to change subjects I have a proposal for you. I'll dispense with the diplomatic protocol because of these displays of power and the fact that we are desperate." gesturing to the hologram, "I requested to my superiors that we initiate an officer exchange program between our two powers. I would like to propose it to you."

"I'll have to think about that Ambassador, I may have larger problems soon." Replied the Duke.

"Thank you Duke Ecaz. I think I should return to the station to report to my superiors on your abilities and request Commander Johann to get several men and women ready for the interview." Said Binchy as he stood.

"Very well Ambassador. Allow me to escort you back to your lighter." Replied the Duke as he walked past Binchy and opened the door.

Walking back to the shuttle Binchy's mind worked overtime comprehending the new things he had learnt on this single trip. After saying goodbye to the Duke, Binchy boarded the Pelican and ordered the pilot to return to the Fryberg. Acknowledging the order the line cut out and the ship started to lift. Reclining in a seat, Binchy began his report and prepared orders for Commander Johann. Quietly the Pelican flew out of the airlock and headed to the Fryberg.

--The Ecaz-_-_

Duke Ecaz sat at the head of the large hardwood table that dominated the main briefing room in the Ecaz. Sitting in chairs near him were one of his mentats and two thruthsayers. Three days ago, Ambassador Binchy had contacted the Duke confirming that the interview had been approved by his superiors. The next three days were devoted to preparing the meeting. The holo projector set in the table came to life displaying the Flight Ops Officer, "_Sir, the UNSC lighter has landed and the occupants are being led to the Fleet Briefing room by Vice Admiral Michael presently._"

Replying, Brian said, "Acknowledged Flight Ops, keep the landing bay clear and let the Pelican move to the head of the cue."

"_Affirmative sir._" Said the hologram as it winked out of existence.

Turning to his men he said, "Make your final preparations, you know how important this could be."

After about a quarter of an hour the door opened and Michael led eight people through. There were three marines, three naval personal, Ambassador Binchy and Commander Johann. Quietly the assembled men sat down and waited patiently for the proceedings to begin. Deciding to get the ball rolling the Duke chose to speak first.

"I welcome those from the UNSC to my ship, The Ecaz. You know why you have been asked to come here so I think we should get right down to business."

"Thank you Duke Ecaz, if it is all right with you I will volunteer to answer your questions first." Said Commander Johann, speaking before Binchy could say anything.

"That is fine with me Commander. My first question is, 'Have the Covenant ever destroyed or rendered any habitable UNSC world uninhabitable?'" Asked the Duke.

Waiting a few seconds to gather his thoughts, the Commander replied, "Duke Ecaz, whenever the Covenant successfully conquer a human held world or are forced off it by our Marines they bombard the surface with all of their plasma weaponry and turn the surface into a wasteland."

The Duke waited to gather his own thoughts before proceeding, "Thank you for telling us this Commander, can you have the men and women under your command here answer the same question."

The Commander nodded to the Marines to do as asked. The first Marine to answer was relatively young man whose eyes told of unspeakable horrors he had seen. He took a slow trembling breath and said, "Two years ago I was posted to a frontier colony that had yet to be attacked by the Covenant, a month later they came, we fought them on the ground forcing them into a stalemate, but no less than five days later they pulled out. We quickly followed their lead and packed up, none of us knew what was happening. After landing on the Cruiser Steadfast we headed to the gymnasium to see what was happening. The Captain had fed the stern camera to the main screen in the gym. What we saw stunned us. The world that we had spent thousands of lives defending was being burnt to a cinder, the entire planet was aflame. There were people in the gym breaking down all around me. I even heard a few strangled cries as several people took their own lives after seeing the horror. The Covenant ships just ignored us, destroying the planet was more important to them then killing those that had killed their own." Closing his eyes the Marine sat down, tears dripping from the corners of his eyes.

This went on for another 40 minutes as the other Marines and Naval personal repeated their own stories. It was over five minutes until anyone spoke.

"Thank you for your information. I don't know how hard it was for you to say all of that." Said the Duke, turning to the Commander and the Ambassador he said, "Gentlemen, you will have your reply within 24 of your hours. Please excuse me while I talk to my men in council. Once again, thank you for what you have done today." Quietly he ordered his men out of the room and headed to his office with them in tow.

--In the Duke's office--

Sitting down the Duke got straight to work, "Was what they said true."

They both nodded and one of them decided to add something, "M'Lord, I detected no falsehood in their statements. What they said is true and all of our evidence supports this. In council I suggest that you declare war against these Covenant. What they have done is an atrocity. Just because they can does not excuse them from being exempt from basic honor."

"Understood. Michael, your analysis and suggestions?"

"I also recommend that you declare war upon this Covenant. Even though we are few in number, we cannot let this atrocity go unpunished lest it happen to us later." Said Michael.

"Thank you. Go now and let me think over what we are about to do."

_-_-On the bridge of The Ecaz--

"Comms, open a channel on all frequencies." Ordered the Duke.

"Open and ready sir" replied the comms officers

Taking a few seconds to prepare himself, the Duke started his address, "Men and women of House Ecaz and United Nations Space Command. After much deliberation with officials from both sides about the conflict between the Covenant and the UNSC I have made a decision." He let that hang in the air then continued, "I, The Most Honorable Duke Brian Ecaz of House Ecaz hereby declare war with the Covenant Hegomany and all its allies. We will not rest until a peace is brokered between all sides or the Covenant Hegomany and all of its allies are destroyed."

Finishing his address, the Duke walked to his command chair and opened an fleet only channel. "All Fleet Officers will report to the Fleet Briefing room in seven hours. The Duke out."

Quietly he headed back to his quarters to prepare for war.


	6. Second Blood

Chapter 5 – Second Blood

* * *

_--_The Ecaz_--_

The Duke was sitting at his desk reviewing the most recent reports from his scouts. The past two months had gone better than he had expected. Around a week after he had officially declared war against the Covenant, his people had set up a colony on what was the planet Ecaz in this universe. It was out of UNSC space and after informing his now allies, they had marked that area off as belonging to House Ecaz. The PR and propaganda wing under his command had also done a spectacular job on introducing Human AI's to the people of House Ecaz. There had been only scattered reports of violence and his spies reported that there were no coups being planned. The relations between the two powers had improved rapidly but mainly due to the UNSC's desperation in finding an ally to help save them from extinction. Now that they had found one they were sharing all they knew on the Covenant. Or that's what they said.

The holo panel embedded in the Duke's desk hummed to life, and the figure of a young girl in Medieval armor appeared. Heh, the Duke thought to himself. Relations between the UNSC were so good that they had expanded on their original officer exchange. The Duke sent over ten of his mentats and in return the UNSC sent an AI over. At the moment it was temporary but it was interesting. Looking at the Duke Joan spoke, "Good Morning Admiral, you're computer systems are still very interesting and spacious, and you say you only allowed me access to the communications equipment?" She shook her head, "By the way, Commander Johann would like to talk to you, it seems that you are about to meet the Covenant."

"Understood Joan. Oh, and don't try and hack your way into any other systems, my men are the best." Replied the Duke. "You can let the Commander through now."

Nodding Joan dissolved from view to be replaced by the face of Commander Johann. "Hello Admiral," he said, "My superiors have decided to make a stand against the Covenant at the planet Sigma Octanus. They request that you send several of your ships their to help in its defense."

"Understood Commander, I'll collect several of my ships and head their in an hour." Replied the Duke.

Relief obviously flowing into his face, Johann said, "Thank you Duke Ecaz." The face of Commander Johann disappeared to be replaced by Joan.

"Finally," she said, "I'll get to see what this thing can do." Joan said over the speakers

--UNSC Leviathan_--_

Admiral Stanforth sat in his command chair aboard the UNSC Leviathan. He thought back on the communique he had received after he had returned from the Iroquois, their new friends were heading here. If the message was correct they were already here. That confused him greatly, had they got lost, had they turned their backs on the UNSC, had they run away? He didn't know and that annoyed him. Dammit, he thought, they'd have to rely on the plan they had already thought up. Help or no help, the UNSC would win here.

"Sir, we are receiving a short range message using UNSC protocols but there is no ship in the direction of the signal." Shouted the comms officer.

Puzzled even more by this development Stanforth said, "Patch it through lieutenant."

"Aye, sir."

"_..repeat. UNSC Leviathan. This is The Ecaz, we have arrived and are watching you. When the Covenant ships arrive, don't shoot until we unleash our first salvo. I repeat..._"

What the hell, Stanforth thought. The bridge crew looked at him searching for his order. Mulling it over he finally came to a decision. Trying to look as if this were part of the plan he said, "People, these are our new allies, they will be helping us in this battle. They know their ships best so I intend to let them have the first shot. But, if the Covenant ships get too close. We'll blow em to hell."

The bridge relaxed and everyone returned to their tasks. Stanforth wished he was as trusting as the men and women under his command.

--The Ecaz--

The Duke stood in the CiC on his ship, he looked at a corner of the holo display that took up most of this large room. There they were, the Covenant taskforce that was trying to take over this space. He thought back to the message he had sent Admiral Stanforth. It must have been a shock for him to get a transmission from nowhere. Hopefully he had listened to him and would let The Ecaz take the first shot. The Duke relaxed back into his chair. He had done all he could do. The Ecaz was now sitting between Sigma Octanus and the Covenant and in a few minutes they would be scurrying for cover. All he could do was wait.

--UNSC Leviathan--

Admiral Stanforth was standing in the center of the Bridge. Right now he was waiting for the Covenant to attack. And with the Ecazians nowhere to be seen the trust he had in them was decreasing faster and faster.

"All ships in position Admiral. The docks are ready and waiting for your order. "Said an officer.

":Understood, begin countdown. Open fire as they enter optimum range. The Ecazians will have fired by then."

"Aye sir."

Stanforth quietly hoped he was right because if he wasn't the battle had just become much harder for him and his people.

--The Ecaz--

"Helm." The Duke said, "Decloak and comms open a channel on all frequencies."

Quietly the monolith that was The Ecaz appeared between Sigma Octanus and the Covenant.

"Channel open sir." said the officer on comms.

"Understood." The Duke replied as he walked towards the holo display. "Ships of the Covenant Hegomany. The beings of the UNSC are our allies. If you do not leave the area now we will be forced to destroy you. We have also declared war upon your government. If you wish to negotiate a cease-fire we will mediate."

--Cleansing Light--

Shipmaster Shik looked at the screen trying to comprehend what had just happened. The alien ship had appeared out of nowher. No energy trails or distortions could explain how they just appeared. But, he knew that if they were going to defend these pitiful huu-mans then they would die just like them. Tapping a command into the console in front of him, he broadcast a message in english, "Aliens, we are the Covenant Hegomany, you will die before us. You death is the will of the gods and we are still their chosen instrument." Closing the channel he ordered his ships to destroy the new alien ship.

--The Ecaz--

The Duke listened to the transmission quietly. As soon as it ended the sensor officer shouted, "Sir the energy levels on the enemy ships is rising. The UNSC data indicates they are about to fire their energy torpedoes."

"Understood, Fire Control, target the Covenant ship that broadcast their response."

"Affirmative sir." Replied an officer.

Slowly the largest guns aboard The Ecaz turned to target the Covenant cruiser.

"Sir, we have a firing solution on the Covenant cruiser." Shouted the officer at the weapons station.

"Understood, prepare to fire." Ordered the Duke reopening the channel h had just used the Duke said simply. "All ships, open fire. I repeat, all ships open fire."

His orders will quickly followed by the heavy guns aboard The Ecaz flashing and launching lances of energy towards the Covenant. As the massive beams hit the Covenant shields flared brightly and the shot went straight through. The movement of the Covenant ship brought even more damage upon it as the beam racked along its hull. As the beam cut away from the cruiser, the stresses of the loss of so much tore the cruiser Cleansing Light to pieces.

Quickly all the other ships the Duke had brought with him decloaked and opened fire. Within a minute it was all over. The Covenant had been destroyed before they could react. But, the Duke knew he had the firepower, and surprise on his side. In the future it would not be so easy.

--UNSC Leviathan--

Admiral Stanforth stared in disbelief, the Ecazian ships had first appeared out of nowhere, and then destroyed the Covenant ships with ease. For the first time in awhile, Stanforth dared to hope that the human race may survive.

--UNSC Iroquois--

The newly promoted Captain Keyes stared at the monitor with the rest of his crew for the next several minutes. Who were these people and why are they helping us was all he could think of. They had destroyed those ships as though they were a disgusting bug.

Suddenly Lieutenant Dominique spoke, "Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the Admiral."

Shaking his head he told Dominique to patch the transmission through.

"_...is Admiral Stanforth, I repeat, DO NOT fire on the new alien ships. They are our allies. You will all be briefed soon. This has been the first time they have fought beside us. We now have a chance of winning against the Covenant. This is Admiral.."_

Ensign Lovell said, "No fucking way, how the hell did they destroy..." His voice trailed off as he knew there were no answers right now.

Keyes just looked out the viewport and wondered what was going to happen now.

-- The Ecaz--

The Duke was reviewing several reports from his army on the ground of Sigma Octanus. After the battle above the planet, the UNSC had asked if the Duke could spare some forces for a ground assault. After thinking about it for a day, the Duke had sent a Frigate of light infantry to assist the UNSC Marines. But a recent report had thrown his mind into disarray. A Bene Gesserit ship had just made contact with the scout ship Pride of Taihape. They wanted to meet with him over Rakis. He couldn't miss this meeting so he had been very busy preparing all his deputies for his departure.

Quietly the holo projector in the Duke's desk hummed to life and Joan appeared.

"Hello Joan."

"Good Morning M'Lord." Replied Joan, "This is one impressive ship. After how it performed in the recent battle."

"Thank you Joan. What do you want to ask me about the Great Convention?" said Brian as he relaxed back in his chair.

Joan was thrown by this question. How did he know I was looking at the Great Convention? She decided to ask a question then, "Why do you think I would be asking you about that?"

"Because you've been hacking into the archives on board my ship." The Duke replied holding up a report from his database staff. "I told you they were the best. The only reason they didn't terminate the connection was because their standing orders are to watch you and only intervene when you try for a classified area. Thereby giving us data on how you operate."

Quietly cursing herself Joan decided to press on, "Well I guess I'll just ask you the question I have. As I scanned the Great Convention I found passages talking about a bomb called an atomic. The wording of the document implied that these bombs were able to destroy a planet. Is this true?"

Sitting quietly in his chair, the Duke debated on what to do. On one hand she'll find out in time. On the other it would show trust to tell them now. "Joan, what you read was true." Said the Duke as he typed several commands into his console. Suddenly the picture of an atomic was displayed on a wall screen, with a video of its effect on an uninhabitable planet during a test. Joan just stared at the video, horrified and amazed at such raw power. The Duke continued, "These use of these weapons was banned by the Great Convention. But after the Tyrant, The Great Convention has fallen. But no one has dared to use them at their full power. My fleet carries several hundred atomics including stone-burners which are extremely nasty."

Joan continued to stare for awhile then asked, "How big are these... atomics?"

The largest are about the size of a lighter. Most are the size of a small missile though, and they are still able to blow a planet in half."

"Please excuse me M'Lord, I need to tell my superiors this."

"Understood." Said the Duke, "But remember, this is only one of our secrets. Just like you, we have not told everything."

Joan hurriedly left, preparing a report for UNSC High Command. Locking down the holo-projector the Duke returned to the task at hand. Two hours later he was ready to go and went to the bridge.

"Comms," he ordered, "open a channel to the UNSC Leviathan."

"Channel open sir." Replied the ensign.

Speaking up the Duke said. "Please pass this message along to the Admiral. Admiral Stanforth, I'm sorry to say but there is some pressing business that I have to attend to. Commodore Poole of the Waka will be the representative of House Ecaz until I return. If you need to contact me place your request through them. Until later, goodbye." Shutting the channel down the Duke ordered, "Helm, plot a course to Rakis and jump when ready."

--Naihim--

Ground Commander Callen stood on a hill 20 kilometres away from the town of Naihim observing while his command station was set up. The first detachment of troops under his command had launched from the Firgate Reistey in lighters to reinforce the UNSC Marines. Now the town was under siege, no one was getting in or out. He spotted a communications technician running up to him out the corner of his eye. Turning around to address the technician, the technician spoke first.

"Sir, The Reistey has landed and begun disembarking its troops, they should be here in two hours. The Captain of the Reistey has given us command of three thopter squadrons and the techs aboard the Taihape have managed to get one of the heavy direct fire cannons moving. That should be here in the half hour and is being flown in by carryall." Said the tech.

"Well done soldier, tell them to put the cannon beside us and get the Thopters to fly CAS over the town." Ordered Callen.

"Understood sir." said the tech as he ran off.

Callen tapped his com board and said, "Intel, I want fly-eyes over that town now. Start getting life tracers on everything in it as well."

Callen tried to relax as his orders were carried out. Looking at the town he knew that those aliens were fighting a losing battle nothing would stop his Duke and House Ecaz. He then looked up at the sky, he was one of the few men on the ground that knew the Duke had left on urgent business. The only clue he had was a single word sent in battle language. 'Worms.'

--Chenoah--

Reverend Mother Kethve Siave stood quietly in the command center as she waited for contact from the Duke of House Ecaz. After a quick council with the other Reverend Mothers in the taskforce, they had come to a decision to contact the Duke. There were so many unknowns in the universe and the Duke needed to know about them lest he destroy everyone. An acolyte ran up to her and began to speak, "Reverend Mother, The Ecaz has just appeared in orbit. They have launched three lighters and they are proceeding here right now."

"Understood, inform the landing flat controller that the three lighters are to be allowed landing clearence." Katherine replied as she headed to the groundcar waiting outside.

--The Duke's Lighter--

Brian sat in silence as the pilot brought the lighter to the landing flat that they had detected with their sensors. He couldn't believe it, this was Rakis. Still here and still desert. Micheal sat across the aisle sifting through all the data he could. Brian had many questions to ask this Reverend Mother. But he knew something very important was happening for the Bene Gesserit to reveal this secret. The buffeting quietened down and Brian looked out of the viewport. There it was, the landing flat. Already spice silos had been constructed. It suddenly hit Brian and everyone else in the lighter that had seen it. There are worms here. Is the Tyrant here? Even more questions piled into his mind as the pilot made the final approach.

--Landing Flat--

Kethve watched silently as the Duke's lighter braked and slowed as it came into land. The repulsors finally activated and the lighter floated towards the small group slowly. As it finally touched down, Kethve could smell the burnt metal of the lighters hull. With a hiss, the main airlock on the lighter opened slowly. The Duke was the first one down and walked straight towards Katherine. Stopping before her he said,

"Mother Superior, thank you for allowing an audience with you. I would like to get straight to business."

"Very well M'Lord." She replied and gestured to the waiting groundcars.

As the door in the groundcar shut the Duke asked the question on everyone's mind, "What do you want Mother Superior?"

"There is much to talk about M'Lord, not the least is the war you have just got yourself into. You have to make sure you don't destroy anything of importance."

Grumbling the Duke replied, "Reverend Mother, my House affairs are my choice. With the revalation that Rakis is here and that there are worms I have many questions."

"Well lets start, shall we?"

"Okay, first, how many harvesters do you need?"

"About twenty at the moment. The newest ones with hover jets that don't disturb the spice bed."

"Understood, second, I want to set up a colony here for our own purposes."

Chuckling, Katherine replied, "I thought you might want to do that." She handed over a sheet of Riduilan Crystal, "There are several good sites for a colony set out there. Of course, when you set a colony up we will need to make mutual defense agreements."

"Of course." The Duke paused a few seconds before adding, "What are you planning to do with the spice?"

"Stockpile it of course." Replied Katherine.

"You do know that we will want intelligence on the UNSC and Covenant if possible in repayment for the harvesters."

"We know, the first report should be ready for you to view in another week." The groundcar pulled up to a frigate that had landed and formed outskirts of the town and landing flat., "Would you like to have some lunch before we talk any further?"

"That would be a good idea Mother Superior. Lead the way." The Duke said following the Bene Gesserit into the Frigate. He quietly wondered what would happen next.

--Outside Naihim--

Callen waited as the Direct Fire cannon warmed up a the crew made their final checks. Now they were ready to assault the Covenant. The plan was simple enough, find the largest pockets of Covenant and attack them with either the cannon, the CAS Thopters and the UNSC Atellery. But with any plan their were problems. They would be unable to level the entire city so that meant entering the city with infantry.

An aide walked up to Callen, "Sir, all troops have been deployed and we are ready to assault the town."

"Understood, begin phase one." Was the simple reply.

Slowly the humming that was coming from the cannon grew. The turret moved targeting a Mortar Tank that was behind a barricade. After reaching full power the gunner pulled the trigger. The humming dropped and the cannon threw a blazing line of fire straight at the enemy tank. The beam passed straight through the barricade and then the tank. Demolishing it. Seeing that the beam was overpowered the gunner ordered the reactor techs to only bring it up to half power. The next tank fell to the power of the cannon within the minute. Callen ordered the thopters to begin their strikes. A sensor tech ran up to the Ground Commander looking worried. "Sir, we have just lost lock with about a tenth of the enemy force."

Callen looked at the UNSC attache, he responded, "Ground Commander, those are most likely cloaked elites. We know no way of detecting them.

Callen pondered this for several seconds before requesting the status of phase one. "Sir, Phase one is nearly finished, all concentrated areas of enemy troops have been destroyed." Replied one of his men.

"Understood, begin phase two." Callen ordered.

Slowly two of the three squadrons on thopters landed and were quickly loaded with as many soldiers as they could carry. After he saw them off, Callen opened a channel to the allied forces within the area, "All troops are to begin their assault." There was a click and the line went dead. As he entered the command tent Callen watched the symbols move towards the town. About a quarter of the Covenant force had been destroyed before they decided to spread out. Now the combined UNSC and Ecaz forces engaged the Covenant. The first reports were mixed, some groups won with ease while others needed reinforcements. There were also reports of two new Covenant species. The nastiest ones were walking tanks, covered in armor plating concentrated fire from several lasguns or heavy anti-tank weapons were required to bring them down. Anything less just made them angry. The other one was harmless and didn't care who was who.

A few minutes later a large group of contacts appeared on the map. Looking closely Callen saw that they were the reinforcements from the Taihape. Walking quickly over to the comms station, Callen ordered the new units to where they were needed and got the heavy weapons to set up on the hill he was on.

Six hours later and several hundred casualties later, Naihim was finally liberated from the Covenant. As Callen reviewed the preliminary reports the Covenant were able to adapt towards the end of the fighting. The cloaking devices would have to be dealt with soon, over 60 of Ecazian casualties resulted from cloaked elites alone. To top it off the armored tanks the Covenant employed could only be brought down with several lasguns or heavy weapons. Over all, the combined Ecazian UNSC forces had performed well in their first outing. After composing his first report, Callen sent it off to the Duke and went to talk with his men.


	7. Dusk

Chapter 6 – Dusk

* * *

--Chenoah--

"Duke Ecaz, as I'm sure you already know we have extended our fingers already." Said Siave as she finished her lunch, "Even though we have yet to scratch the surface of the UNSC we have picked up some disturbing findings. All I can say is that you should watch where you step. News of you has just started to appear in their territory. Some factions are extremely xenophobic. Even to the point where they are afraid of their own kind, they are also very powerful, which is understandable considering how their first contact with an alien species went."

"Mother Superior, my top priority is the survival of House Ecaz. I would never do anything to jeopardize that." Replied the Duke tersely.

"M'Lord, I'm sure that isn't your only priority. We know what these Covenant have done to the UNSC. In our universe it goes against everything moral and logical. We will do what we can to help but we are only a small group."

"So you believe that we are in a separate dimension?"

"M'Lord, I know that we are in a separate dimension."

"Is there anyway that you know of that would allow us to return home?"

Siave sat quietly thinking before she replied. "There is no way that we know of to return home Duke. If we did I wouldn't be speaking to you. We are alone here."

"I understand Mother Superior." The Duke said. "Now on our negotiation on harvester equipment. How soon do you need them? I'm guessing you have enough of a stockpile to survive you for a few months."

"We have reserves for a few years yet. Though we would like to have them as soon as possible."

"I can have the first delivered within three weeks."

"Thank you Duke Ecaz."

"I need your help as much as you need mine Mother Superior. Now I need to return to my ship. This war will stretch my people thin."

"Very well Duke Ecaz, I hope to see you again if time and fate allows." Said Siave

--The Ecaz--

As the Duke stepped off the lighter he sent an order to the bridge to break orbit and jump to Sigma Octanus. He then headed to his office to prepare his new orders to the fleet. Reaching his office he sat in his desk and began to compose the orders. Silently Joan appeared in front of him and said, "Welcome back M'Lord."

Looking up from his terminal he asked, "Why must you us that title even though you don't have to?"

"It's easier to say quickly."

"I see. Now what do you want this time?" He said tersely wanting to finish his business.

"Well well. I'll be quick then. While you were on that planet I saw several huge creatures in the sand. Since there were no people near it that I could see and I am not allowed into your archives the only explanation I can trust is that you know what it is. What is it?" She asked.

Leaning back in his chair the Duke thought of a reply, he said, "Well you were right that we do know what the creature is. Since you will find out in time I'll tell you the simple version. We call them worms. The Rakian Priesthood calls them Shai-Halud. The people of Rakis call them Shaitan. They produce precious narcotic, the spice Melange. We only know one other way to make it but we don't have the specifics of how it is made. In my home universe there is a very powerful and shady group called the Bene Gesserit. These women are addicted to the spice, they need an alloted amount each day just to survive. The agony of withdrawal kills. Or so they say. As you have no doubt guessed that is who I met. And as you also would've guessed, they need me to produce machinary to gather what they need.

Quickly checking the facts that she could Joan saw that it all matched up so far. So she said, "Thank you M'Lord." Finishing she dissolved from view and prepared a report for the UNSC as she had been instructed to do.

--UNSC Sabre--

The alarm in Commander Natalie Williams quarters chimed. Groaning she got up and walked to the clock. "Another day." Was all she said turning the alarm off. After washing up she headed to the bridge to begin her shift in command of her ship the Sabre.

Looking out the armored viewports she could see the alien ships hanging beside them. They had been sent here to bolster the defenses of this colony after Covenant forces had been detected a few hundred light years away. Thankfully everything had been quiet. Sitting in her chair she brought up a list of queries that the bridge crew thought only she could answer. The message at the top stopped her for a second, she then read it again.

_Commander, this message has been relayed to you as per the request of the Captain of the Peter Blake._

_--MESSAGE BEGINS--_

_Commander Williams, as the Captain of the Peter Blake, I request that you and your command officers come over to my ship for a dinner. The commanding officers of the Wallaby will also be attending if you choose to come. My Duke has asked us to get to know our new allies and I believe this would be the best way at the moment._

_--END MESSAGE--_

Well, she thought. The Captain was right in that it would probably be the best way to get to know each other even though they were in the middle of a warzone, if the reports from Sigma Octanus was anything to go by. She decided to place the request on the back burner until she could get some more background information and a meeting with her command officers.

--Unyielding Hierophent--

The Prophet Pain looked over the final transmissions from the taskforce sent to the human planet to collect the Forerunner data that was known to be there. The ships had disappeared after their signal stating that they had exited Slipsapce had been sent. He was pondering on sending a larger force to find out what happened. The problem was that he didn't know if he could spare the forces. These humans did have weapons that could destroy one of his ships with a single shot. Thankfully the Covenant forces had only had to deal with a few. But their home planet would be surrounded by many of these things. So he needed as many ships as he could. But, he needed to know what had happened to these ships. What if these humans had a new weapon that could destroy several ships in one shot. Shaken he decided he had to know what had happened. Looking over the fleet inventory he found an interesting entry. Somehow a small spyship had made its way into the fleet. Quickly he made a set of orders sending this ship to the last know location of the taskforce with orders to observe and report back.

--Unseen Sight--

Shipmaster Zokche looked over the new orders he had received from the most esteemed Prophot Pain. He could see why the Prophot wanted to know what had happened, the hoo-mans, dirty word he thought, those animals didn't deserve a name and should be eradicated for the cold blooded murder of his fellow elites. Looking at the orders again he wondered how these animals could have destroyed the taskkforce. Something was wrong. Quickly he typed in a command into a Command Deck console and his ship broke away from the fleet and entered Slipspace heading towards Sigma Octanus.

_-_-Reach--

Michael stood in the quarters he had been given after he had arrived. He had been teaching the UNSC about the history of House Ecaz and the Old Imperium. To him it had been boring so he put himself into mentat mode and just regurgitated the information while thinking about the capabilities of the UNSC. Things had become more interesting lately as Michael was looking over the daily reports from the other House Ecaz personnel. The Intelligence section of the UNSC had been asking some interesting questions to do with the total capabilities of House Ecaz, as was standard procedure the answers that were given only revealed a little of their capability. It was possible that they had picked up on this because in the daily meeting today the UNSC personnel had asked about the offensive and defensive capabilities of House Ecaz. After saying the total capabilities were classified, the UNSC personnel had conferred with each other and seemed to make a decision. This morning, Michael had been asked to remain in his quarters to receive a guest. He sat quietly in the center of the room knowing that he was being monitored

Doctor Katherine Hasley stood outside of Michael's quarters. She had called in some favors to get this meeting. With any luck Cortana had entered the security systems and was waiting for her to begin her talk with the alien. She shuddered, all the data she had looked over confirmed that they were human, but she could not bring herself to call them that. Regaining her composure she took a breath and knocked on the door.

Michael heard someone knock on the door. Slowly standing up he prepared himself for a fight. Stopping at the door he placed his hand on the handle and slowly opened the door. The only person he saw was a middle age women. Dressed simply in a lab coat. Making sure there was no one else in the corridor Michael finally spoke, "Welcome to my quarters M'Lady, would you like to come in?"

Hasley blushed at this question. Their language sounds so archaic, she thought. Quickly thinking of a response she said, "I would be pleased to Michael. By the way, my name is Katherine. You can call me that or Doctor Hasley."

"As you wish Doctor." Replied Michael standing aside and letting Hasley in.

Walking in Hasley took a quick look around the room. Standard diplomatic quarters, most of the original furniture had been removed. With some personal furniture brought with the Ecazian representatives replacing it. Michael walked beside and motioned towards one of the chairs. She looked at it skeptically, it looked like an old Victorian chair, seeing her stare at the chair Michael said, "That, Doctor. Hasley, is what my people call a chairdog. It will mould itself to the body of the person sitting in it. I assure they are quite harmless. I've even sat in that one myself and I'm sure the people monitoring me can clarify it. Now would you like something to drink?"

Listening to Michael's explanation, she wen and sat down. As she sat she could feel the chair move and change as it tried to find the best shape. After it finished it felt great. One thing she noticed though was that it made a few mistakes as it changed shape. Looking towards Michael she said, "A glass of water would be fine Michael." As she finished Doctor Hasley could swear the chair shivered. "Michael, are these things alive?"

Taking a glass out of the cabinet he said, "Yes they are Doctor, They aren't called chairdog's for nothing. They are very low maintenance but are quite alive."

Doctor Hasley was stunned, living furniture, ship based weapons that could destroy the Covenant in one shot, where did it all end. Across from Hasley, Michael sat down in another chairdog and placed the glass of water on the table between them. "Here's your water Doctor Hasley and there is a poison snooper above the table to show you the drink isn't poisoned." Michael said pointing to the spindly machine above the table.

"Poison snooper? Your people are full of surprises. The intelligence officers that briefed me beforehand said it was just a decoration." D. Hasley said picking up the glass. "Sorry, I've never liked small talk so I would like to get straight to business." She added before taking a sip.

"As you wish Doctor." Replied Micheal surprised at the difference in this women over the other people he had talked too. Something in the back of his mind said that he could trust her. He quickly crushed that thought knowing that until he had more information he couldn't do anything that would put House Ecaz in danger. "Why did you come to my quarters Doctor. It wasn't to try and get our technology straight out of me."

"Well not exactly, I have two requests." Composing herself, Hasley continued, "As I'm sure you have heard, we have troops called Spartans. A very small group, they have been intergral into slowing the Covenant down the best we could. As the person who began that project I'd like to ask for a transfer of technology. I understand that the weapons your ships carry are also scaled down into man portable size. The weapons would be very useful in future operations against the Covenant."

Michael sat still for a minute throwing thoughts around in his head. He knew that they couldn't trade any weapons right now. To many things had to be sorted out first. But she was right in that they had heard about these Spartans. They would put the best warriors in House Ecaz to shame even though he would never say it. Making a descion he said, "Doctor Hasley, I'm sorry to say that until certain details are sorted out between our governments I am unable to authorize any transfer of weapons. But, when those have been sorted out, I will make sure that the first weapons will go to your Spartans."

"I understand Michael. What I'm about to say I would ask that you don't repeat to anyone except your Duke. An... associate of mine has taken control of the monitoring systems that watch this room. I know I am unable to give you tis irrefutable proof of this so you will just have to trust me. My only concern is that the human species continues. I am going to inform you of a mission that could end this war in a single stroke. What I am planning to do is propose to the Admiralty that we send a single ship to capture a Covenant vessel, take it to the Covenant homeworld, capture a Prophet and bring it back here so we can negotiate a peace. I think it would have a higher chance of succeeding if you were to join with us in this mission."

"Please excuse me for a few minutes while I think about it." Said Michael. He stood and walked onto the balcony. That women is dangerous, he thought, but what she has to say is valid. The plan is based in logic, but even logic cannot see everything. He wished his friend were here to make the decision. That plan could work but it hadn't even been proposed yet. But, humanity had to live, and they should be able to spare the resources. But until he could make sure, he would have to give a answer now. Walking back inside he closed the door and said, "Doctor Hasley, until I can get back to my Duke I cannot promise any forces from House Ecaz. I will see what I can do and do what I can. What you have done is stupid and very brave. I will try to reward your bravery. I will have quite a bit of work ahead of me so I would like to end this meeting. I do hope for your sake though, your associate got the job done or you would have made relations between our governments very difficult. Until later." He finished and opened the front door.

Getting up and walking to the door, Dr Hasley hoped that she had done enough, and that Cortana had done her job or they would all be in a lot of trouble. Stopping at the door she turned to Michael, "Thank you Michael. With your help we may survive this war yet."

"M'Lady, there is a long way to go." Replied Michael. He watched Doctor Hasley walk down the hall, a stray thought passed through his mind which he quickly battered away. If this plan of hers was going to work, there could be no distractions.

--UNSC Sabre--

"Zeus, I want your suggestion on what should be done. I'm thinking of accepting this invitation." For the past couple of hours Natalie had been looking at the relevant information on House Ecaz.

"Commander," came the strong voice of the ship's AI, "I don't trust these aliens. But, from the data on the battle of Sigma Octanus we need them for our survival. I would suggest you meet them but take a security detail with you."

Commander Williams sat for the next few minutes thinking the dilemma over. Finally she said, "Zeus, send a communique to the Peter Blake telling them we accept their offer. Would it be ok for us to arrive at 6pm UNSC GMT time?"

"Affirmative Commander, message sent."

"Well tell the Command Staff to prepare for a formal dinner." Ordered the Commander, after standing up she paused, "And prepare a backup plan just in case, something tells me that I can trust them but I won't get caught without a fight." She started walking to her quarters for a shower and preparation for the dinner.

_--HES Peter Blake--_

Captain Jack Fand had just finished putting on his Dress Uniform when someone knocked on his door. Turning around he shouted, "It's open, get in here." The door opened and his second in command, Commander Simon Crest strolled through in his own dress uniform. Shutting the door he said,

"Getting ready to greet the misses of the Sabre are we?"

"Well I made the order didn't I?" Replied Jack chuckling. Glancing at the clock he noticed it was time to go to the airlock. "Time to go."" he said and led the way to the airlock.

Over the past two hours the Sabre and Peter Blake had been slowly maneuvering beside each other preparing to make a hard dock. Unfortunately the engineers on board the Peter Blake had had to make some unexpected changes to the mating collar to get an airtight seal. They had managed to get the modifications done and get the two ships docked. They were just completing their final checks as Jack and Simon arrived. Looking around Jack saw the rest of his command staff floating and waiting. The head technician looked up from the datapad he was carrying and approached the Captain, coming to a stop he said, "Sir, final checks have been completed and the collar has been pressurized, we are ready to open the outer and inner airlock doors."

"Understood. Is this room locked down?" Asked Jack. Even though the chances of the collar being breached were tiny you couldn't be sure so standard procedure was followed for having the airlock open.

"I have already ordered and checked that this room has been shut." Replied the technician.

"Very well, open the doors."

There was a loud hiss as the inner door of the airlock slowly swung outwards to the assembled personnel. As soon as both doors had finally finished opening Jack pushed himself through towards the door at the other end of the collar. As he approached it, the door hissed and slowly opened. The first person to appear was an armed guard. Jack heard a hum and knew the two guards behind him had activated their shields. Giving them a subtle hand signal they deactivated their shields. At the same time the UNSC Marine also stood to the side and Commander Natalie appeared. She said,

"Very impressive Captain, your men a very disciplined."

He replied, "A hundred and fifty years of service will do that to a person."

"A hundred and fifty years old?" Natalie said with a laugh, "Now that would be a few candles on the cake each year."

"Candles? I'm sorry, I'm guessing it's a cultural difference. Also to be exact I'm one hundred and fifty three years old by your calender"

Natalie knew she was out of her depth with this new information. Her people had been trying to increase the length of a human life but had been less than successful. If these people were to be believed then their was a long way to go for the UNSC.

Suddenly the technician that had just been talking to Jack came flying up. "Sir, Five Covenant ships have just been detected jumping in at the edge of the system." Just at that time a UNSC officer flew up behind the Commander and told her the same thing.

"I guess we'll have to cut this meeting short then Commander Natalie." Jack said as he signaled his command staff to the CnC. Natalie nodded and headed to her own ship as the airlock closed. Speeding through the air back to his own ship Jack stopped after he passed the airlock and opened a channel to the bridge. "Captain to Bridge, have the Wallaby cover us until we can disengage from the Sabre." Closing the channel before he could get a response Jack ran to the C-n-C in the center of the ship. Being one of the newer ships in the fleet it had been equipped with a command center located in the most protected part of the ship. You didn't get the views but you got to live to see another day. As he entered the CnC he pulled off his jacket and threw it on the center chair. Standing next to it he asked, "How long until we can disengage from the Sabre?"

An Ops officer replied, "We have just disengaged from the Sabre and are moving towards the Covenant at best speed as per your standing orders."

Sitting down in his chair Jack acknowledged the response.

"Sir, the Covenant ships have launched fighters." Said the Sensor officer.

"Understood. Launch second flight fighters and send the first flight to engage enemy small ships."

The holo display dominating the C-n-C showed the fighters quickly moving ahead of the Peter Blake. Looking over the display slowly Jack could see the Wallaby ahead of the Blake.

"Sir, the Covenant ships have just launched Plasma Torpedoes, I count twenty in all."

"Send second flight fighters to cover the Wallaby, prepare DLI flight to launch." Ordered Jack.

This was going to be a tough battle and he knew it. Five to three odds and the Covenant got the first shot, "Sir, the Wallaby has engaged the Covenant." Said the Sensors officer, "Sir, fifteen of the plasma torpedoes are heading to the Wallaby, eta 40 seconds." Another officer chimed in. Tapping a command into his console the holo display zoomed in on the Wallaby and the Covenant ships. He could see the plasma torpedoes heading towards the Wallaby as the Covenant ships slowly took damage from the long range shots from the Wallaby. Suddenly the shields aboard the front Covenant Cruiser failed, the heavy lasgun on the Wallaby was quickly brought to bare. A bright lance of light was thrown from the Wallaby and smashed into the hull of the Covenant Cruiser. The beam cut through each of the decks and slowly moved towards the other side. The Cruiser was being cut in half. Suddenly the beam finished. The two pieces tore the last connection apart and floated away. Then the lights on board the Wallaby dimmed as all her power was diverted to her shields. The Plasma Torpedoes were only a few seconds from hitting. An explosion of gas from the side of the Wallaby threw her away from the torpedoes and three missed, Two more just flew straight on but the ten others that had targeted the Wallaby hit. Her shields flared as the energy from the plasma splashed across her shields. But the energy was too much and the shields fell. The plasma kept on burning and smashed into the heavily armored hull of the Wallaby slowly eating its way through. By now eight of the torpedoes had expended their energy and were no more. But there were still two left. They were quickly burrowing towards the engines. Quietly another disappeared as the plasma dissipated. As the final torpedo reached the engines there was a huge flash and they were gone.

"SIR, the Wallaby has just sent a burst message. They are dead in the water and have fires on all decks." Shouted the comms officer.

"Captain, I'm picking up hundreds of very small contacts. The Wallaby is being boarded. I suggest we tell them." Said the officer overseeing the sensor station.

"Understood. Comms, send a warning to the Wallaby telling them to prepare to repel borders."

"Message sent sir."

"Now target the closest two Covenant ships and prepare the atomic." The CnC fell quiet for a second as the shock passed over the crew. Then everyone redoubled their efforts to kill the Covenant. No one wanted to launch the atomics so soon.

--Delta Flight--

Lieutenant Dominac was relaxing in his seat as his back-seater came over the internal comms. "Hey Dom, we've been called back home. The Wallaby and Blake are under attack and requesting help."

"Okay." Said Dom opening the encrypted channel to his flight. "Okay guys, the Wallaby and Blake are getting the shit kicked out of them and want some real men to help. That means us. I want best speed back to the Syd, we'll probably be landing hot as well." Finishing he opened up the channel back to Sydney, "Delta flight to Sydney, message received and acknowledged. Though I do suggest you head over to the Blake and let us wait here until you get back."

The channel crackled with static until the flight ops officer started speaking, "Negative Delta Leader, we need everyone and we don't know when we'll be back so the Cap wants everyone back."

"Understood. Then clear bay one and prepare for a hot landing, jump as soon as we touch down." Replied Dom.

"Roger Delta Leader, Bay one is clear, land at your discretion."

Switching back to his flight channel Dom said, "Okay Delta Flight, Bay one has been cleared for a hot landing. Prepare your ships and go for max burn on my mark." Waiting for the other three ships to signal ready Dom finally said, "Mark." The four Rapier class Heavy fighters screamed forward as the Sydney quickly grew larger. After ten seconds Dom ordered the ships to throttle back and prepare for a full reverse burn. Slowly making minor corrections his back-seater prepared the engines and inertial dampeners. Twenty seconds before passing the outer airlock Dom ordered everyone to decelerate and land at their own discretion. Closing the channel he waited until the outer airlock doors filled his forward screen then threw everything into stopping his ship. The engines quickly began overheating and the inertial dampeners strained and Dom was thrown into his harness. But all he was concentrating on was the speed indicator and distance radar. Both were falling quickly but was it quickly enough. His fighter was stopped suddenly as it hit the gravity field of the landing bay. Taking a deep breath Dom quickly landed his ship and checked to make sure everyone else was in one piece. Looking towards the closing airlock doors Dom could see foldspace screaming by outside. Securing his flight suit he popped the canopy and jumped out. Looking around he could see technicians swarming down onto the fighters suited up in similar suits until the bay could be pressurized. Dom waited until his back-seater had got down then jogged over to the pilot lockers.

--HES Peter Blake--

The battle was even so far. The Blake and Sabre had managed to destroy three more Covenant ships but the Sabre had been heavily damaged. Jack had had to lauch the DLI fighters to cover the Sabre. This left a damaged Blake to take on a damaged Covenant. Jack sat in his chair shouting orders. One of the Covenant plasma torpedoes had taken out the primary memory bays. So now the main holo display was down, leaving Jack to keep track of everything through the panels. Jack was watching this Cruiser carefully, twice had its shields been brought down but they had managed to escape destruction both times. This time Jack was concentrating everything on the Criuser. Once again its shields fell but this time before Jack could order all guns brought to bare the Sabre fired her MAC gun and the 300 ton round smashed into the Cruiser ripping it apart. Waving away the smoke Jack shouted, "Okay people, that was the last ship, now I want reinforcements sent to the Sabre to help with damage control." Standing up Jack shouted, "And Helm, bring us alongside the Wallaby and dock. Make it a hard dock so we can relieve their strained systems and personnel to help repel their borders." He then opened a channel to the Navigation bridge, "Nav, you have the conn, I'm going to lead a party over to the Wallaby. When the Sydney arrives have her prepare to receive wounded and have her take position near us." Closing the channel Jack ran to the armory to prepare to help the Wallaby remove their guests.


	8. Preperations

Chapter 7 -- Preperations

* * *

--HES Swift--

"Dan, slip us into a holding position above the planet and decloak." Ordered the Duke.

"Aye, sir." Replied Daniel.

The small no-ship Swift dissolved into view near the Peter Blake. The Duke quickly hailed the Blake. The screen in front of him flashed as the hail was acknowledged, Capatin Jack of the Peter Blake appeared.

"Sorry Captain Jack but we have to skip the pleasantries and get to business. Your orders have been changed, you and your Command Staff have an hour to prepare to transfer over to my ship. We will be docking presently. Duke Ecaz out." Shutting the channel down Brian turned to his helmsman, "Daniel, you can dock now."

"Aye, sir."

The Duke stood up and headed to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat.

A half hour lather the Duke floated beside the door controls waiting for the command staff of the Peter Blake. A light on the control panel glowed signifying the other door had opened. As it winked out the Duke pulled the inner door open.

"Permission to come aboard M'Lord?" asked Captain Jack.

"Permission granted." Replied the Duke. The seven men and women of the Blake floated through the door and stopped on the opposite wall. After shutting the door the Duke turned to Captain Jack and said, "You have been chosen by me to be technical attache's to the UNSC. We are giving them lasguns and they will require people with intimate knowledge of them to maintain and fix them. Your quarters are down the hall and down the ladder. They contain information on your new mission. If you'll excuse me we have one more person to pick up before meeting the UNSC personnel involved in this mission. Just so you know, we will be picking up the new Mother Superior of the Bene Gesserit and two of her advisor's. Dismissed."

Everyone quietly dispersed and headed to where they needed to be. The Duke drifted into the exchange corridor so he could walk to the bridge. Entering the small bridge the Duke ordered Daniel to disengage and jump as soon as he was clear.

--Rakis--

The newly elected Mother Superior, Reverend Mother Kethve Siave stood alone out on the landing flat. A large explosion drew her attention, looking into the sky she could see a trail of flame descending to the ground. She knew it was the Duke coming to transport her to meet the humans of this universe. The streak of fire turned towards her and slowed down and the little no-ship landed softly on the landing flat. After the dust had blown away Katherine walked to the entry hatch that was opening on the side of the no-ship. Standing there was the Duke himself. As she approached the Duke said, "Welcome mother Superior, if you would get aboard we can head to Reach and meet the UNSC."

"Very well Brian." Katherine replied entering the ship. After closing the doors the Duke opened a channel to the bridge and said,

"Everything down here is ready Dan, you can lift off any time you wish. As soon as we are clear jump to Reach."

"Understood sir." Came the reply and the channel shut off.

"Mother Superior, if you would follow me you can meet Joan, a UNSC AI." The Duke offered.

A shiver ran down Katherine's spine though she did not show it. She, as with the rest of her people, were still getting used to the fact that these humans work side by side with artificial minds. Organizing her thoughts she replied, "Very well Duke Ecaz. Lead on."

--Reach--

Michael stood silently beside Dr. Hasley as the sky of Reach thundered and a trail of fire followed the Swift as it came into land. The Swift quickly slowed and transferred the weight over to the suspensor's. Coming to a stop above the lancing pad closest to Michael, the landing legs extended and the ship landed. After several minutes of waiting as the drive was shut down and the exterior of the Swift had cooled, there was a hiss and a door opened. Behind it a boarding ramp extended. After it had finished extending the Duke walked down with the Mother Superior beside him, Captain Jack and his staff followed behind. The Duke walked up to Admiral Stanforth and extended his hand. Stanforth stood there for a few seconds, looking carefully at the Duke. He then shook the Duke's hand. "Welcome to Reach Duke Ecaz." Stanforth said.

"Thank you Admiral. Due to the nature of our meeting I suggest we start it as soon as possible." Replied the Duke.

"Already done Duke Ecaz. We are just waiting for you and your party."

"Lead the way then."

After everyone had boarded a line of Warthogs, the small convoy left the Swift and proceeded to a secure meeting room.

--Secure Conference Center 01--

The Secure Conference Center was one of the most heavily defended areas on Reach. Surrounding the main building was 60 square kilometres of grassland. The facility was surrounded by jammers of every sort. The buildings were lined with copper and the people that guarded it were given shoot on site orders. The Warthog convoy quickly pulled up outside the main entrance and everyone walked through the doors without saying a word. The group was guided to the main conference room and let in. As they entered they could see everyone that was already there. The best engineers that the UNSC could get there hands on, ONI Section 3 representatives, several people from the UNSC High Command, Captain Keyes and his Command Staff, and gathered in one corner were two dozen Spartans, all at attention and saluting Admiral Stanforth.

Admiral Stanforth looked at the Spartans returned the salute and said, "At ease."

Admiral Stanforth waited until everyone was seated and then signaled for Dr. Hasley to begin. She walked onto the podium and began. "Each of you gathered here today are experts in your fields. What we are planning to do today and in the near future will tax everyone one of you. Right before the appearance of House Ecaz, the UNSC High Command were just beginning a plan that could potentially stop this war on one go. With the appearance of House Ecaz, the potential for success has been raised. We have been in talks with the leader of House Ecaz, the Duke Ecaz to design a joint mission between our two powers to capture a Covenant leader. We believe this would work because of the structure of the Covenant. Our plan is to capture a so called Prophet and bring it back here to negotiate a peace. Without a peace, the survival of our two powers is not assured. I have been informed that the Duke Ecaz would like to say something before we depart and get down to business." Dr Hasley stepped off the podium as the Duke walked to the front. Standing on the podium the Duke began,

"As Dr. Hasley has stated, if there is no peace between us and the Covenant we may not survive. When I first received word of this mission I knew that the UNSC ship or ships involved would need upgrades to survive." The Duke nodded to Michael who pulled a holo projector out of a briefcase and placed it on the table in front of him. "After scanning several of your ships I tasked my engineers to create a self sufficient weapons system that could be installed in your ships without the need for any modifications. My engineers came up with this." Michael activated the holo projector and a hologram of a lasgun with a power generator appeared. "This is a Light Capital ship grade lasgun, it has been designed to replace your 50mm autocannons. It has been designed to be installed in the space where the autocannons are. The entire unit is self contained and requires very little maintainece . There are 40 sets waiting transfer on my flagship. They will be shipped as soon as the Pillar of Autumm is ready, and as soon as our production facilities are ready to make these you will be given two hundred more as a gift. Also, as soon as my engineers have got a system ready to allow our lasguns to run off your power systems you will be given the technology." Duke Ecaz stepped of the podium and walked back to his chair.

Admiral Stanforth was stunned, the firepower jump this would give the UNSC would make a huge difference. Realizing the Duke had got off the podium Stanforth approached the podium and stepped onto it. "Okay everyone, you know what you need to do. The survival of the human race is at stake. Dismissed." The room erupted into noise as everyone got up and left. Dr. Hasley waited by the door until everyone except for Admiral Stanforth, John, Duke Ecaz and Michael had left. John walked up to Dr. Hasley and said.

"Dr. Hasley, you asked to see me after the meeting."

"Yes I did John, the Duke here has another surprise and so do I, if you would follow me."

"Understood doctor."

Dr. Hasley walked to a waiting Warthog and got in it, she waited until John, the Duke and Michael had got in then tapped onto the driver's shoulder and the Warthog moved off. Turning to the Duke she said, "Okay, since my surprise will have to wait you can show yours."

The Duke smiled and pulled out the briefcase that held the holo projector. Opening it he said, "Master Chief, I'm sure you have read reports of the effectiveness of our weapons. You should also know we have not given the UNSC any of them. This is for some very good reasons. First, these weapons are very powerful, if not used carefully you will cause more damage to your own side than to the enemy. Second, they are an alien technology and you don't know how to fix them. But the most important reason is that when fired at one of out shields, the resulting sub-atomic fusion reaction is huge and destroys both the target and the attacker." The Duke then lifted a lasgun out of the briefcase. "After reading of the exploits of you and the rest of the Spartans. My advisor's convinced me to lend the UNSC twenty-seven of our latest model lasguns for the exclusive use by the Spartans. The other twenty-six are being distributed as we speak but since I'm here I will give you this one." The Duke then held out the lasgun to John. John looked at it carefully for several seconds then took a hold of it. He was surprised at its lightness, no heavier than a sniper rifle. "Something else I will mention. The lasguns that you and the other Spartans will be receiving have a few modifications. These modifications allow them to be integrated into your suit systems, showing you the level of the capacitor and reactor, and where it is aimed." The Duke added. John shouldered the lasguns and looked down the iron sights. "Any questions Master Chief?"

"Will you also train us in their use?" John asked.

"Yes, we will teach your our tactics on their use."

"You mentioned a reactor. How is it fueled and will we need to carry it with us in battle?"

"There is a tiny fusion reactor contained in the gun. The fuel is carried in the handle and it only requires refueling about every twenty years."

"How powerful is the beam?"

"Just the simple questions." The Duke smiled. "The gun when set on about half power could cut through this vehicle with ease. The gun will also continue firing for twenty seconds. It will then require thirty seconds for the capacitor to recharge. The gun is set at around ten percent power for anti infantry use. At that level it can fire for well over two minutes continuously."

John was impressed and wary. Something so powerful would be very dangerous until he had trained with it.

The driver of the Warthog then stopped smoothly outside a tent outside the rifle range that John knew very well.

"I guess it is my turn to give you something new John." Hasley said stepping out of the Warthog. "Follow me John. Duke Ecaz. If you could please remain here with the driver until I return."

"As you wish Ma'am." The Duke replied.


	9. Threads

Chapter 8 – Threads

* * *

--UNSC Pillar of Autumn--

"Sir, Cortana has finished cycling up the reactors. We have full power available. We are ready to clear the space dock." Lieutenant Hikowa said.

Over the past few weeks, the Pillar of Autumn had been docked above Reach being fitted out with the new systems that would be needed for her coming mission. Now the engineers had finally finished High Command had decided that a very short shakedown run was needed to see if everything worked as it was supposed to.

"Understood," Keyes replied, "Signal the dockmaster. Helm, take us out, five percent thrust on the engines."

"Aye aye Captain." Replied Ensign Lovell. Slowly, the armored behemoth that was the Pillar of Autumn moved out and away from the space dock that had been her home during her upgrade. "We have cleared the space dock. Ready to break orbit."

"Understood. Hikowa, signal Fleet Command. Tell them we are proceeding on our shakedown. Helm, break orbit and prepare to jump to slipspace. One hundred percent on the engines. Set course for XI Belaruz." Keyes ordered.

The bridge holotub hummed to life displaying Cortana. "Hello Captain, I'd just like to inform you that our secondary AI has been initialized. "Cortana said, waving to the main viewscreen. Where a young girl in medieval armor had just appeared.

"Thank you Cortana." Keyes said before turning to face the viewscreen. "Welcome aboard Joan."

"Glad to be aboard sir."

"When we exit slipspace, we will need to test the new point defense guns. Be ready. In the meantime, learn the Autumn's systems quickly. When Cortana leaves, you will be the ship AI."

"Aye sir." Joan said before fading out.

"Cortana, how long until we can enter slipspace?" Asked Keyes.

"Twenty minutes with the reactors at one hundred percent, seven if we push them to three hundred." Replied Cortana.

"Well we need to test the new systems quickly so." Keyes finished abruptly as he turned to Lieutenant Hikowa. "Lieutenant, bring the reactors to three hundred percent. Shunt the extra power to the slipspace generators."

"Aye aye sir." Replied Hikowa, quickly relaying the order to engineering. Several seconds later she spoke up, "Reactors at three hundred percent, estimate eight minutes until we can enter slipspace."

A few minutes later Hikowa spoke up. "Captain, slipspace generators charge, ready to enter slipspace on your command."

"Understood. Helm, jump when ready." Said Keyes.

"Aye sir. Jumping now." Lovell replied.

The darkness of space in front of the Autumn exploded as the slipspace generators tore a hole between the two dimensions. The Autumn flew through the tear, entering slipspace. As she passed the tear, it collapsed on itself, being replaced by the vacuum of space.

--The Ecaz--

**Structure**90

**Drives**100

**Life Support**25

**Armament**10

**Reactors**100

The Duke glanced over the display. It was showing the status of Assault Ship One. The original idea for this behemoth was the Duke's. After reading several papers and taking a trip through slipsapce he told his engineers to design a large and heavily armed capital ship transport. If this war was going to be won, the UNSC had to share the burden, the slipspace drive wasn't fast, accurate or temporally precise enough for a large military operation. Four weeks later the first structural beams were laid in the new Ecazian shipyards. After negotiating with the UNSC, a technology co-operation was agreed upon. House Ecaz would build the drives, reactor, computer systems and core structure. While the UNSC would add the armament, single ships, and most importantly the navigator.

As the design had started, the Duke was informed that there was a large problem. The fleet contained no extra Ixian mechanical navigators. They would have to cannibalize one or test a part of legend. The legends about the Blutarian Jihad mentioned that the first navigators were not humans but machines. Maybe an AI of the UNSC could handle the strain of the calculations required to fold space. After House Ecaz had finished her part of the agreement the AI Joan was installed. After several weeks of learning how to use the Holtzman generators she made a small jump from the shipyard of Sokre to one of her moons, Rempere. After two more days of small jumps and refining her equations Joan jumped from the Gruvan system to Reach, slotting the new ship right in front of the dock she would be placed in. The test had been declared a success. On hearing this the Duke ordered that construction of the next four even larger transports were to be built immediately.

--UNSC Pillar of Autumn--

"Captain, we will be exiting slipspace in thirty seconds." Cortana said appearing the holotub,

"Understood Cortana. Engineering, bring the reactor up to two-hundred and fifty percent and prepare to charge the MAC gun capacitors." Ordered Keyes. Standing up he walked to the viewport and stared into the blackness of slipspace.

"Exiting in five, four, three, two, one." Counted Cortana. Suddenly there was a flash and the stars of realspace came into view. Keyes looked ahead at Xi Belaruz IV and his mouth nearly dropped. "Captain. I am detecting a ship." A few seconds passed, the bridge silent. "It appears to be human. I'm detecting plasma scoring on her hull."

"Sound general quarters." Keyes shouted. "Cortana, get me an ID on that ship now."

"Processing."

But before Cortana could speak again Lieutenant Hikowa spoke. "Captain, that ship is the Angel. It's a civilian ship the disappeared a couple of weeks before we encountered the Covenant at Harvest."

"Confirmed sir." Cortana said, "It's the Angel, it was operated by Inter System Discovery They reported her missing five days before Admiral Cole met the Covenant at Harvest."

"Hikowa, signal Fleet Command of our finding. Cortana, begin scanning the surrounding area for any contacts. Launch probes and Longsword patrols aswell."

--Two Days Later--

Captain Keyes stood at the head of the Autumn's briefing room. Slowly he looked over those that had gathered. Pilots, Technicians, Marines and even the Spartan's that were to be deployed when the Autumn got back to Reach. Glancing over his notes again he began. "Ten hours ago, we detected an energy spike in the civilian ship Angel. The pattern is similar to the Covenant anti gravity system. Though there are differences. Fleet Command has decided to send are recovery crew but we don't know if the Covenant know we are here.

So, it has been decided that we will board the Angel and see if we can get their logs and see what this energy spike is. To help with this, Fleet Command requested some help from House Ecaz. They agreed, sending one of their frigates, the Flrota, to assist us. Cortana will now begin the briefing for the mission." Keyes finished.

"Thank you Captain." Cortana replied. The lights in the rooms dimmed as a hologram of the Angel appeared. "For this mission there will be a total of five teams. Red, Blue and Grey teams will be Spartans while Green and Purple will be Marines. Green, Red and Blue teams will be inserted into the rear landing bay of the Angel by Pelicans." The hologram of the Angel flashed and zoomed onto the rear landing bay. "Red and Blue teams will dismount first and clear the bay. After the bay is declared clear, Grey team will dismount and set up a beachhead, covering Red and Blue teams exit route. After this, Red team will head to engineering, where they will eject the main reactor core manually. The reactor core has been putting out radiation that has been interfering with our sensors, after it has been ejected the Flrota will destroy it. This will hopefully allow us to pinpoint the transient contact. Meanwhile Blue team will proceed to the main computer core and extract whatever is left."

The hologram now changed view to show the location of the bridge and its closest airlock.

"Now for Grey and Purple teams. They will be inserted by a Pelican to the closest airlock to the bridge. After docking, Grey team will secure the airlock then proceed to the bridge to check the data core and see if the AI is still there."

The hologram zoomed out to show the entire ship again.

"After Red, Blue and Grey teams have completed their objectives there are two things that can be done. First, if the radiation is still blocking our sensors, a deck by deck search will be made if we haven't detected any Covenant ships. If the radiation has fallen we will scan the ship and direct whoever is the closest of the Red, Blue or Grey teams to the contact. Where they will make contact. The primary objective of this mission will to capture the contact. If it or they resist, you are authorized to use whatever force is necessary to bring it back.

The rotating section of the Angel has been damaged and breached in an attack. So it will be a zero-g op in suits. To inform everyone, I will be going with the Master Chief for this op so Joan will be the Autumn's AI while I am gone. Any questions."

Sargent Johnson stood, "Ma'm, if I may ask. What is so important about this ship?"

"Well Sargent." Cortana said looking at Keyes who quickly gave her a nod. "This ship could be the answer on how the Covenant found us and we may be able to find out something we don' know now since the Angel was equipped with the best sensors money could buy. These sensors are still better than what most ships have now. Any more questions?"

There were no more. Seeing this Keyes stood up.

"Everyone knows what is needed of them. The Pelicans will launch in two hours. Dismissed." The room emptied as everyone left to prepare. "Cortana, begin transfer of your ship duties over to Joan." Keyes ordered.

"Aye Captain." Replied Cortana disappearing in a flash.

Keyes' stood alone in the room. Wondering if this ship held the answer to some of their questions. The screens silently showed the Angel, floating in a debris field of her own making.

--Foehammer--

"Twenty seconds to objective troops. Prepare for fast dock." Captain Rawley, callsign Foehammer shouted behind her.

"Okay Foehammer. Just make sure you got the right door. You know I hate floating in this piece of crap." Johnson shouted straight back. A few people chuckled as the rest rechecked their weapons again. The Master Chief slowly drifted over to the airlock they would be using. He had never liked being in space. There were too many things that could turn into snags. Pushing it out of his mind he opened a channel to the rest of the Spartans in his team.

"As soon as we dock I'll head through and clear the airlock. As soon as that is done we head straight to the bridge." Ten grey dots flashed. At that moment the Pelican shuddered as the docking clamps engaged. The Master Chief watched the indicator lights to light up. After a final clang two of the lights lit up, he knew that was all he was going to get so he quickly grabbed the handle and opened the airlock door. Everyone leveled their weapons around the Chief's body as he opened the second door. With a lunge the Chief threw his body through the now open airlock into a large room on the Angel. The Spartans quickly followed behind with the Marines right behind them. The Chief made a quick hand motion and opened doors heading quickly to the bridge while Johnson set up shop around the airlock.

The Chief rounded a corner and flew into the bridge. His radio came to life as Fred spoke. "Florta, ejecting reactor core in five, four, three, two, one." The Angel shuddered as the large reactor core was thrown out. The engineering sections had been breached during their battle with the Covenant. Due to this it had taken longer than planned to get rid of the core. Meanwhile the other two groups of Spartans had been slowed down because of the unexpected amount of armor on the Angel. She had been upgraded to allow her to fight for a discovery.

"_Reactor core targeted. At present speed and trajectory we will open fire in twenty seconds._" The Forta's Captain said.

"Chief." Came a voice from his head. "Put me in the dataport over there." Cortana said.

As he pulled her out the Chief could feel her leave. Even though it had been done several times he still hadn't got completely used to it. Putting the data-crystal into the port the Master Chief waited as several of the screens around him came back to life with Cortana appearing. 'well unfortunately they've taken the Angel's AI." Suddenly the symbols on Cortana began to race. "No way" was all she said before opening a channel to Keyes. "Captain Keyes, the Angel's AI has been taken but it left an entire copy of its files on the secondary core. They were exploring beyond UNSC space when they found something amazing." She paused while the symbols moved even faster over her body.

"_What is so amazing Cortana?_" Keyes asked.

"Wait a second sir. Here we go." On all the screens in the taskforce a picture of a huge circular construct appeared.

"_Cortana, what am I looking at?_" Keyes asked slowly.

"The translation protocols that were left in the data dump translate its name into Installation Zero Seven. Apparently it was constructed by a race known as the Forerunner." Cortana shook her head, "Ah sir, they crew of the Angel found something on this structure. An ancient AI. They were bringing it back to UNSC space when they were attacked by the Covenant. The records are sketchy, but it appears they didn't find it."

"_Fire._" was heard over the radio as the Florta fired and destroyed the core. "_Radiation decreasing, will notify when we find something. Keep going Cortana._" Captain Yuth said.

Without missing a beat she kept going. "The AI calls itself Four Seven Seven Sentient Bypass and... Huh. The energy signature of Four Seven Seven Sentient Bypass is the same as our transient contact."

"_Cortana, download all the files into your system. Spartans you have a new objective. Find Sentient Bypass and bring him to us._" Keyes ordered.

"_Energy signature detected._" The Florta's captain said, "_According to your plans it should be in the Captain's quarters._"

"_Sir! Energy spike detected. It's a Covenant Frigate._" Joan shouted.

"_Hmmmmm... Understood. Sound general quarters. Engineering, bring the reactor to two-hundred and fifty percent and start charging the MAC gun. Sargent Johnson, change of plans, get your men out of there now._" Keyes said.

"Aye aye sir." Replied Johnson before switching over to the Marines channel. "You heard the Captain. You forgot to clean your rooms and we have visitors. So back to your transports." As he switched back to the command channel the Marines around him began to pack up. "Master Chief. We'll be waiting for you in Foehammer."

"Understood Sargent." Master Chief replied. "Everyone except for James proceed back to your transports and the Autumn." Everyone began moving as the channel was closed. James moved up right behind the Chief and waited to go. The Chief grabbed Cortana after she was finished and began to race to the Captain's quarters with James right behind him.

--HES Florta--

Captain Yuth stood on the bridge as his crew prepared for battle. Opening a channel to the Autumn he said. "Captain Keyes, defend the Angel. I'll take care of the Covenant ship.

"_What are you going to do to get to it before they start shooting plasma torpedoes?_" Keyes asked.

"This." Came the simple reply. Yuth turned and said "Jump" The Florta suddenly disappeared and reappeared right beside the Covenant Frigate. Before it could even move the Florta opened fire with every gun that could. The Covenant shields flared brightly as they strained to withstand the energy being dumped into them suddenly they flashed as they were breached and the lasgun beams slahed deep into the hull, within seconds it was over. The Covenant ship was in pieces. No life signs or energy signatures were detected.

"_Well if the Covenant are working like they usually do there will be a large taskforce heading here right now._" Keyes said over the radio. "_Master Chief, find that thing now._" Keyes ordered flatly.

"_Aye sir._"

Sentient Bypass had been monitoring the progress of the reclaimers closely, so he was startled to see two of them appear in the room. Deciding to speak first he said, "Greetings Reclaimer, I am Four Seven Five Sentient Bypass. I am the monitor of Installation Zero Seven."

The Master Chief stood there thinking of what to do next. Cortana whispered to him. "Mind if I speak?"

"Go ahead." Was his quick reply.

Cortana replied on the same frequency Sentient Bypass had used. "Sentient Bypass, I am Cortana, representative of the UNSC. We have many questions to ask you but we are in a dangerous place. If we do not leave we will die. If you agree we can continue on our ship."

Sentient Bypass floated there thinking for a few seconds before asking, "Is this an order from the Reclaimer?"

The Chief spoke up, "It is." Something told him that Sentient Bypass was talking about him

"Very well then, lead the way." Sentient Bypass replied cheerfully. The party of now three left the dead Captains Quarters and moved quickly to Foehammer.

"Foehammer, this is Cortana. Prepare to disengage the clamps and get us back to the Autumn." Quickly changing channels Cortana continued, "Captain Keyes, we have managed to get Sentient Bypass to follow us. We are proceeding to Foehammer. I suggest we scuttle the Angel and return home before the rest of the Covenant get here."

"Agreed Cortana. I have a Shiva already prepped." Keyes replied.

The Chief flew round the last corner and waited until James and Sentient Bypass had got into Foehammer before getting in himself. After shutting the airlock doors Foehammer disengaged and sped off quickly to the Autumn as a bomb was launched heading straight to the Angel.

As soon as Foehammer landed the Autumn began to accelerate to enter Slipspace. Meanwhile the Florta covered her and waited until the Shiva had destroyed the remains of the Angel before jumping away herself.


	10. The Battle for Halo 04

Chapter 9 – The Battle for Halo 04

* * *

--UNSC ASI--

Admiral Luis Soven sat in the very spacious Combat Information Center on board the Cube, the nickname that had been given to this monstrosity of a ship. Looking around he could see screens everywhere, display the space outside or data needed. So much had happened since the beginning of this war he thought and now finally we have a chance of not only surviving but winning. The Comms technician that he had just sent away a few minutes ago was returning. Standing in front of him she said. "All ships are on the channel and ready to receive Admiral."

"Understood Lieutenant. Open channel."

Walking over to her station she pressed several buttons then turned back to Soven. "Channel open sir."

Taking a deep breath Soven began, "Men and women of the UNSC. For to long have we retreated before the unrelenting attacks of the Covenant. Whenever they appear we fall back. But now we have more than hope. We have the ability, not only to survive as a species but to beat the Covenant. With House Ecaz we have built this ship together, combining the best of our technologies. As we speak the upgrades a traveling through both sides. You were the first to receive them.

Our mission today is not one of defense, not of of delay. For the first time we STRIKE! We will wrest this station from the Covenant's grasp and never give it back. For whatever reason the Covenant want it we will find out. Then make sure that they NEVER GET THEIR SLIMEY CLAWS ON IT! You all have your orders. We hit them hard, we hit them fast and we kill each and EVERY ONE OF THEM! FOR EARTH! FOR HUMANITY!" Soven could feel the entire ship shake as every single human screamed at the top of their lungs. Shouting above the bridge crew Soven continued, "WE JUMP IN ONE HOUR!"

--UNSC Pillar of Autumn--

Captain Keyes stood on the bridge of the Autumn. Looking out the main window he could see what he could only describe as the universe speeding by. This foldspace was so different to Slipspace. The bridge was quiet as everyone prepared for the jump back into realspace. After that there would be a lot of danger as the attack began and everyone undocked from the ASI. A hum could be heard as Cortana appeared above the holotub.

"Hello Captain."

"Cortana." Keyes replied with a nod. "Ship status?"

"The ship has been prepared and the crew is ready."

"Understood." Keyes said looking up at the countdown on the main screen. 5:17 minutes left until the jump into realspace.

--HES Arentys--

Captain Froteh sat deep within the Ecazian destroyer. One of the newest ships in the Ecazian fleet it had been commissioned only a month before the exodus. Now it was in a separate dimension fighting aliens in a battle to the death. Froteh chuckled at the thought. His original plans when given command of the Arentys were to finish out the last 30 years of his commission and live off the rest of his life on Ecaz with his family. Well the multiverse had other plans for him. Looking from his chair he could see the entire bridge with all its holographic displays. "Sir." spoke up his second in command, "Fighter crews prepped, gunnery stations manned and internal security teams deployed. The ship is ready."

"Very well Commander Yetr." Froteh replied tapping a command into his console. "This is the captain speaking. For the first time we take this ship into combat as a crew. For the Duke and for House Ecaz we will emerge victorious. You know what you need to do and I know you will do it. Captain out." Yetr relaxed back in his chair as the crew made the final adjustments to what they could. The timer now read 3:13 minutes.

--Longsword on board the Ark Royal--

Commander 'Ballseye' Ankionson ran over his instruments one more time. His Longsword was carrying a heavy load on this mission and he didn't want to be caught with a safetied dud on his wing. "Missiles report green across the board." He said out loud.

"Same with guns." Replied his copilot.

Tapping a button on the control stick he opened a channel to his squadron and their escorts. "Alright people, one more look at our mission. The Ecazian Worms will be running escort as we destroy on any Covvie ships that have been damaged by the big guns. After we launch make sure you partner up with your escort. Then stay close to the Ark until we have a target." Ballseye was about to continue when, Fryberg, the Ark Royal's AI began to speak.

"Ten seconds until jump. Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

--Patience--

Ship Master Orna Fulsamee was in the Command center when several alarms began to scream. Pressing the flashing panel in front of him he shouted. "What is it!" Suddenly the alarms in the room shut off and the elite replied.

"Ship Master, we have just detected a large enemy fleet at the edge of sensor range."

"Show me" He ordered. One of the projectors changed and showed a large cube surrounded by smaller ships. Suddenly some of the ships began to be tagged with information, 'HUMAN ATTACK SHIP, TYPE C2'. "Exalted, whoever gave the humans the location of the Holy Ring will be found and executed."

The being beside did not say a word. Instead his assistant, a lower ranked elite called Ikaporamee, spoke for him."It is unlikely that the humans tracked one of our ships Ship Master. They may be no better than cattle when compared to us but they are still barely sentient. And all sentient beings are drawn towards the majesty and greatness of the Ancients."

Fulsamee snapped his claws and pushed a panel on the console in front of him. Move the fleet into formation and prepare for battle. Begin charging plasma torpedoes.

"NO!" Screamed Ikaporamee "The human vessels are heading to the construct. We cannot allow it to be destroyed."

Fulsamee thought for a second before pressing the panel again. "Cancel the last order. Prepare boarding craft and launch all fighters. Use of torpedoes is restricted for the first attack. No torpedoes are to head towards the construct." Looking back at the Prophet he asked, "Is this course of action supported Exalted?"

Ikapornee once again responded. "We find this course of action appropriate. The largest ship must be captured."

"Understood Exalted one." Fulsamee bowed his head before looking back at the screen showing the human fleet moving into formation.

--UNSC ASI--

Outside ships of every size were quickly moving into a wall. In the center of this wall was the Cube. In front of this wall stood the Covenant.

Admiral Soven watched the screens silently. A few seconds later he said, "Open a channel to the fleet." Quickly a channel was opened. Taking a slow breath Soven said, "Today we have our revenge." Looking around the room one more time he shouted, "ATTACK!"

The entire fleet exploded in light as every single engine was pushed to its limits and every single MAC gun was fired. Quickly the fighters and bombers pulled away from the fleet smashing into the Covenants own cloud of Seraphs. Hundreds of tiny suns and asteroid fields were created every second. Then the Capital ships caught up. Without even blinking they plowed straight through the cloud. Autocannons and lasguns flashed reaching out to the fighters and quickly destroying them. Meanwhile the large lasgun turrets on the Ecazian ships fired, quickly the Covenant ships accelerated and moved out of the way. A few were damaged but none destroyed.

Suddenly the Covenant replied. Over a hundred torpedoes exploded from their sides and quickly accelerated towards the oncoming ships. The Covenant engines began to glow as they turned and raced towards the UNSC and Ecazian ships.

Soven was standing, watching the carnage in front of him. A Fire Control officer shouted. "Sir! We have entered effective SMAC range!"

Without waiting Soven shouted, "All stations, OPEN FIRE!" The front of the Cube erupted in fire as the SMAC fired. As it reached the end of the barrel the round splintered into several smaller pieces creating a cloud which would kill any ship that passed through it. Following it thousands of Archer missiles raced out of their pods attacking any ship in range.

--Patience--

Fulsamee stood quietly watching the fight his own ship was in the middle of the Covenant formation. He watched as the largest ship fired a new human weapon. As it got closer to his ships it broke up. For a second Fulsamee was confused until it smashed into one of his ships. It was ripped apart in a blink of an eye. Fulsamee growled but continued to push the fleet forward.

--HES Arentys--

Froteh was standing up giving his gunners targets. He had already ordered a preparation for shields to be raised. His ship was already targeted by 5 plasma torpedoes. On the main screen there was a flash as one of the Covenant Frigates went up in fire. Not wasting time he quickly ordered them to focus on the next closest ship and the process began again. Meanwhile the Plasma torpedoes got closer and closer. As the counter reached 7 he shouted, "CEASE FIRE! SHIELDS TO FULL! BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Suddenly the lights dimmed and ship became quiet. Then the torpedoes hit. Soven was thrown from his chair into a nearby console and was knocked out. The helmsmen wrestled with the controls trying to keep the ship level. But eventually they lost and the ship tumbled end over end. As soon as the bombardment finished the shields finally burnt out. Then the crews training took over. The ship was quickly righted. Froteh was taken down to the mess hall while his XO took over. After receiving word that the ship was still operational he ordered flank speed and the Arentys returned to the fight.

--UNSC Melbourne--

"Sir! They've bracketed us with Plasma torpedoes!"

"Understood Lieutenant." Replied Captain Reid. During the first salvo the Covenant had concentrated their torpedoes on the ships in the front of the human line. Now the Melbourne had 7 plasma torpedoes heading straight towards it. "Helm, prepare to use emergency thrusters on my command."

"Aye, aye sir."

The counter read 16, 15...

"Order all single ships to scatter."

11, 10...

"Sound collision."

7, 6...

"Fire port thrusters on my mark."

3...

"MARK!"

Throughout the left side of the Melbourne emergency thrusters fired throwing the ship to the side. Unfortunately the Covenant commander had thought they would do that and had his torpedoes move apart just as the Melbourne tried to get out of their path. A single torpedo smashed right into the bow of the Melbourne. The new armor held it off but the open MAC gun was different. Covenant plasma flooded into the barrel and began to eat the Melbourne from the inside out. Alarms began to blare all over the bridge as the deck thumped from the plasma opening sections to space.

"REPORT!" Reid shouted.

"Plasma torpedo hit the MAC gun sir." Shouted back a Lieutenant.

"Sound decompression alarms and vent inner compartments!"

"TOO LATE!" screamed the Lieutenant. Inside the plasma had eaten its way to the reactor. It had just hit the reactor. Immediately the reactor breached. The crew of the Melbourne never knew what happened.

--'Ballseye' Longsword--

"_This is the cube. We have boarding ships incoming. All reserve fighters are to engage and destroy them. Cube out._" The channel shut down. Ballseye switched to the command channel and said, "Worms, we need you to clear the path. Fireslugs fire when you have a lock, focus on the big ones first." Ballseye heard 30 clicks as 2 Ecazian darts flew past him energy beams lashing ahead of them. He turned to his co-pilot. "Launch as soon as you have a lock." She nodded. Ballseye threw the throttle to the firewall just as two Darts flew beside him as escort.

The Human fleet replied once again. This time there was little time for the Covenant to evade and due to the confusion after the Plasma torpedo impacts many never even tried to move. Over two thirds of the Covenant were destroyed in one salvo. Fulsamee began to scream orders, trying to reorganize his fleet. But a new voice cut him off.

"Ship Master Fulsamee. The humans have won today. We will retreat." The prophet said.

Fulsamme was confused but recalled his training. "As is your wish O Prophot." Fulsamee pressed one of the panels and ordered, "Have all ships retreat to the High Charity and order all small ships to land on the Sacred Ring." Turning to the prophet he asked, "What will happen to my troops on the Sacred Ring?"

"They will serve the Forerunner's will and do what they were born to do." The prophet said. Then he turned to Ikaporamee. "Ikaporamee, I will no longer require your services. I have spoken and now will speak." He began to shake and stutter and opened his mouth to say something, "Silence Ikaporamee! You have twisted what I have said to you. It has never caused trouble until now. Now leave!" Ikaporamee turned and left. "You have your orders Ship Master."

--UNSC ASI--

"They're retreating!" screamed one of the officers.

Soven stared at the screens with everyone else as the Covenant ships turned around and each made jumps to slipspace. The entire ship was silent as the last ship jumped away then everyone erupted in cheers and screams. They had won in an even fight. There was now a true hope that humanity could survive and maybe even win. Still looking at the screens Soven could see the Ecazian ships move forward and release smaller ships. Shouting above the screams he said, "Move forward and deploy the Marines! And Comms, Inform Fleet Command the we have won and require reinforcements!" The crew got back to work but the somber mood was no longer present at all.

Slowly the ships of the human fleet moved to the ring and began to drop troops and equipment. The ground battle for Halo 04 had just begun.


	11. Secrets

Chapter 10 -- Secrets

* * *

--The Ecaz--

The Duke was sitting at his desk when Michael walked straight into his office. He looked up and was about to greet his friend when he saw Michael shut the door and turn on the scrambler. This was no friendly talk but deciding it could wait the Duke got up and walked over to his friend, "It has been to long Michael."

"Yes it has M'Lord."

"So. What was so important you had to bring it back in one of my battleships?" The Duke asked.

Michael walked to the desk and took out a folder. "Thirty-four hours ago I explored a structure in the middle of Installation-04's largest desert. It had been brought to my attention after a single repeating phrase was found." Taking out a picture he handed it to the Duke. "It read, O you who know what we suffer here, do not forget us in your prayers."

The Duke was stunned but he quickly asked, "It couldn't be the Tyrant?"

"From what we know about him. It might just be. There's also more."

The Duke groaned and sat back in his chair.

Smiling Micheal continued. "After learning of that I went down to have a look myself"

"What exactly did you find?"

"Well after finally getting into the central room there were two statues of opened mouthed worms. In each was a single sheet of Riduylan Crystal. Unfortunately the data on both is encrypted beyond our abilities to decode."

"But you wouldn't come back unless there was something else Micheal."

"The first line of both sheets wasn't coded at all and they said the same thing. Bene Gesserit."

"So the Tyrant encoded them for Bene Gesserit eyes only." The Duke said angrily.

"That would be my best guess M'Lord."

"Suggestions Micheal?"

"Give them one copy and we try to crack the other. Both are structurally identical."

"Alright, have the Ecaz break orbit and jump to Rakis. We need to figure out what the Tyrant wants before we all die."

Quietly the Ecaz pushed away from Reach and winked away.

--The Cube--

"Final ship destroyed Admiral." Said a Leiutenant.

Admiral Soven blinked, that was the fourth Covenant attack over the past few days. Whatever was on that ring they wanted bad and they were pulling out everything they could by the looks of things. "Launch probes and reset the fleet into defensive positions."

After a quick round of Aye sirs the control room fell back into a waiting silence.

"Comms, get me Spartan one one seven on the horn." Patch it through to my office when he replies.

"Aye sir." Replied the officer as Soven left the control room.

--Installation 04--

"Chief." Cortana said. "Soven would like to have a talk to you.

"Understood." The Master Chief said, "Patch me through."

"Very well." Cortana replied, "Link established."

"Admiral Soven, this is Spartan one one seven reporting in."

"Well so much for thank yous" Cortana said with a bit of annoyance audible.

"_Master Chief. I'll cut right to it. Our position up here is slowly deteriorating and if this keeps up we'll be falling back. The Covenant want this ring back. But we don't know what they want and we're running out of options. If you have any suggestions I'm open._"

The Master Chief was silent for several seconds before he responded. "I suggest you leave me and my team behind and fall back."

"_I won't do that Master Chief. You and your people are to valuable to us alive and killing the Covenant._"

"Admiral, if we can find out what this ring is for or what is on here then we may have a chance of finishing this war sooner rather than later."

"_We can't take that chance Master Chief. I'll soon be ordering the Marines off the ring. You have at most twenty-four hours before I have you pull out._"

"Admiral. If I can table a suggestion." Cortana said over the channel.

"_Go ahead Cortana._"

"I agree with the Master Chief. We need to find out what is so important about this ring."

"_You know I can't let you stay._"

"I know that sir. That is why I suggest asking the Ecazians for help. If they could leave one of their cloaking ships on the ring then after we find out what we need to we can bug out on their ship."

"Hmm... _Might be possible. I'll talk with their commanding officer here. Until then your orders are still to figure out what is so important about this thing. Soven out._" The channel clicked as it was shut off.

"Foehammer, head to these co-ordinates. My analysis of what's left of the Covenant battle net suggests that this is a map-room of some sorts." Said Cortana.

"_Affirmative Cortana. Adjusting course. We'll be there in thirty seven minutes._" Foehammer replied.

"Here's a map of the island Chief. No Marines have been landed there so there is probably a strong Covenant presence."

"Understood." He said quickly looking over the data prepared. Opening a channel to all of the Spartans he began a quick briefing. "Here's the island we will soon be landing on. No one has scouted it out on foot so be prepared for a heavy Covenant presence. Air support will probably be limited to the Pelicans since the Marines are beginning to be pulled back. Here's the plan. The Pelican's will drop us off on the beach here and then make a quick recon of the Island from a safer altitude. After that we will try and find the map room and get what we came for. So keep your eyes open and be prepared for anything." The Chief finished. Thirty flashes of the status lights confirmed that everyone was ready. Now they had to wait.

--Chenoah--

"Yes?" The Mother Superior asked the acolyte that had just appeared. Sky had just finished going through the essential paperwork and was preparing to go to the site of Sietch Tabr.

"Mother Superior. Duke Ecaz has just appeared in space. He has already requested to have an immediate meeting with you." Said the acolyte worriedly.

"Has he said why he wants to meet me immediately?" Sky asked.

"All he said Mother Superior was that it had to do with the Tyrant."

Katherine nearly paled before she could stop herself. It had been millenia since the Tyrant had ruled in the flesh and he still held sway over everything humanity did. "Inform him that he has my attention and a meeting."

"As you say Mother Superior." The acolyte began to turn.

"And tell him that he best be sure that the Tyrant is part of this."

"The acolyte nodded and quietly left, leaving Sky alone to prepare for the meeting.

--The Ecaz--

"Well that was quick." The Duke said surprised.

"The Bene Gesserit never take the Tyrant for granted M'Lord. He held control over them that no one else has ever been able too."

"Agreed Micheal. By the way, you're coming with me. I know it isn't the smart thing to do but you are the one that gathered the sheets and I'll need your advice as well."

"For once M'Lord I won't argue with you." Micheal said with a smile.

"Good. We're going right now and were taking a Renkse, a lighter would be to slow right now."

"Understood M'Lord."

Both men quickly walked off to the launch bays hoping to discover what the Tyrant was trying to hide from them.

--The Silent Cartographer--

"_Okay Chief, I managed to negotiate with the Ecazians to get them to leave one of their 'No-Ships' as they call them, behind. According to them it will be floating in space above a large desert. They will come for you after you signal for them. The signal they ask you to transmit is 'Shaitan' Don't ask, I don't know what it means. Unfortunately I'm having to pull your Pelicans out of there in two hours. There's no way you can use them after we go. Any questions?_" Admiral Soven said.

"What about ammunition and supplies sir?"

"_We're leaving stashes all over the place for our return. I'll have Joan upload a set of co-ordinates for everything. Anything else?_"

"No sir. We'll find out what we need to know soon."

"_I'm sure you will Chief. Good luck and gods... Wait a second. What's that sensors? Show me!_" The line fell silent. "_HOLY SHIT! Master Chief, I'm pulling the fleet back, a huge ship just jumped out with a fleet measuring in the hundreds. Automated defenses should last for another hour at tops. You have that long to hide. Joan, give Cortana all our data on troop deployments. Chief, you'll need these men to keep the Covenant on there toes until we return. Your new orders are to survive and find out what you can. Soven out!_" The line snapped off.

"Chief?" Cortana asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"Look in the sky."

John slowly moved his head to look into the sky. There was a structure floating there. To him it looked like an overgrown mushroom. All he knew for sure though was that it was a snag to his objective.

"Foehammer." Cortana radioed.

"_Foehammer here._"

"Fly to this nav point at best speed. If you detect any Covenant craft land immediately."

"_Understood Cortana._"

"I would've preferred to use the underground route but that's where all the Covenant went after we landed. And that will be the first place they will land reinforcements." Cortana said.

"Cortana, I need all the data you have on thi..." Suddenly the radio snapped to life.

"_This is General Greyton. I'm taking control of all UNSC forces left on this ring. All forces are to hunker down immediately . If you can return to your bases and prepare for hostiles. If the Covenant want this ring back they can rip it out of our cold dead hands after we have finished killing them. Greyton out!_"

John brought up a map of the area. "Foehammer, adjust course and land at fop twenty-one alpha."

"_Understood Chief._"

John looked around the cargo compartment. Everyone was sitting quietly preparing for the battle ahead. Stuck behind enemy lines and outnumbered thousands to one with the snags piling up.

"_I bet you the Covenant forgot to bring a kitchen sink._" Fred joked.

"_Well they did bring everything else._" Replied Frank.

The atmosphere relaxed noticeably as the Pelicans flew to their destination.

--Deep Space--

Silently a massive cylinder floated in space. Slowly the thing lit up as the main reactors were powered back up for the first time in thousands of years. Inside millions of cryotubes ran through the procedure to wake up their occupants and in the center of the ship three beings, winged and fragile floated in an orange gas. They tried to delve into the depths of time but all they saw was darkness.

"It is as he said." One of them said.

"Yes." Replied the second.

"We will do as we were asked. He gave us the choice and we chose." The third said.

All three inhaled deeply and continued to wait patiently for the time that they would show themselves.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 11

--Halo--

"_This is Sargent Johnson, USC Marine Corps to any UNSC or Ecazian forces. We require assistance. We are under siege by Covenant air and ground forces and require immediate extraction or reinforcements. We have taken heavy casualties. Please respond._" The message blared over John's helmet speakers.

"Cortana, how far awa..."

"Thirty clicks." Cortana interrupted dropping a nav point into John's HUD.

Opening up a channel John said, "Sargent Johnson this is Spartan John one one seven. We are on the way."

"_Chief? That you. Good to hear your voice. We're holding them at the moment but I'd say we've only got twenty minutes until they break through our lines._" Johnson replied in between the chatter of MA5B fire.

"Understood Sargent. We're on our way. Master Chief out." Turning to his Spartans he opened up the team channel. "Alright Spartans, we've got fifteen minutes to move thirty clicks. Drop the crates and pass round the Ecazian lasguns. We'll be needing the firepower." John still had his doubts about the energy weapons. Without a lot of fire discipline the wielder could inflict more damage on his own side than on the enemy and it had required over a week of practice to learn how to use the guns in a group but John was sure that they would need the firepower and there was no time to call in something heavier."Frank and Sarah. Escort the Pelican crews to the base." John ordered watching two lights flash in his display.

"Hey Chief! You'll need the help more than we will." Foehammer said. "We'll move towards that base ourselves, you use all your guys and concentrate on killing those Covvies."

John knew that they were right. Both Pelicans had been forced down by Covenant air patrols over an hour ago and the pilots and gunners were now being escorted by the Spartans. But before he could make a decision Frank radioed him.

"_Chief, you take Sarah and I'll stay with the crews. If we need any help I'll call, and we'll try not to take on any Covenant._"

"Understood." John replied then said to everyone. "Alright, Frank will remain with the crews and escort them to the base. Make sure all this kit is hidden. We'll be back for it later. Grabbing one of the guns John made sure it was ready and signaled for his group of Spartans to fan out and start running towards base 34.

--Chenoah--

"Mother Superior. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice." Duke Ecaz said.

"Well you seemed to be in a rush so I made some time." Siave replied with a smile."Please sit." She said.

After the Duke and Michael sat down he looked like he was waiting for something. Glancing at her clock Siave decided to talk.

"Well Duke Ecaz." She said. "You didn't come all this way in a ship of the line to have a morning chat with me."

The Duke quietly lifted up his briefcase and opened it. "You are correct Mother Superior. Two days ago a structure was found. The thing that brought our attention to it was what was over each entrance, a carving of a sandworm. Immediately some of my men went down and explored the complex. They found this." The Duke pulled out a sheet of Riduylan crystal and placed it on Siave's desk. "I'm sure you have a reader in your desk so I suggest you read the first line.

Confused but believing there to be no immediate harm in the sheet Siave opened up the reader in her desk and placed the sheet inside it. Reading the first line she became even more confused, 'Bene Gesserit' Who's idea for a joke was this she thought. Deciding to read further she was surprised to see it start in a very old Bene Gesserit cipher, quickly decoding it she read along and became even more confused"

"I'm guessing that you can decode it." The Duke said.

"Yes I can. It's a very old Bene Gesserit code that we haven't used in over a thousand years."

"So what is it?"

"I think it is a stellar map but I'll have to get my people to look at it to be sure." Siave replied leaning back into her chair.

"A stellar map? Why would the Tyrant give us that?" The Duke wondered aloud.

"He's hidden something here for us to use probably." Siave guessed. "It sounds like something he would do and we never knew the true extent of his knowledge so it is entirely possible that he was or sent someone here."

"The Covenant must be hiding something. That's the only thing I can think of without more data. What do you think Michael?"

"Have either of you considered how strange this meeting is?" Michael asked tonelessly.

"How strange? We're in a parallel universe fighting off an alien species sitting on Rakis. I can't see how much stranger it could get." The Duke chuckled.

"M'Lord, were in the presence of the Bene Gesserit leader talking as though we were always great friends. None of us have anything except for the most basic masks up."

"Where are you heading with this Mentat?" Siave asked as she sat up.

"I think the Tyrant maneuvered us into this position to throw us together in an inescapable alliance. Also note that we have yet to even get a hint of contact from anyone from the Old Imperium."

"And that starmap is a key on finding out why we're here?" The Duke asked.

"That would be my projection M'Lord."

"Mother Superior, please decode that starmap as soon as you can." The Duke said.

"Understood Duke Ecaz, we'll have a copy sent to you as soon as humanly possible."

"Thank you. Please excuse me, I must return to my ship now and get back into the fight." The Duke said as he stood up.

"Goodbye Duke." Siave said as Michael and the Duke left her office. Siave sat back down and after sending the sheet down to the Archives returned to her work.

--Halo 04--

"_There they are._" Radioed Linda. Looking ahead all John could see was more of the thick and dark forest he had been running through for the past fifteen minutes.

"Show me." He said straight back. In the top right corner of John's helmet the display snapped from displaying his ammunition and radio channel to displaying a grainy picture from the scope mounted on Linda's rifle. "Receiving picture." John said and a light flashed in reply. Looking at the image slowly John could see the long grassy field covering a wide and short hill that Base 34 was perched on top of. Looking at the base walls John could see the scoring and holes created by the Covenant weapons. Suddenly the display whited out and John's heart rate spiked but before he could call out the image came back showing a newly arrived beast that was the Covenant Mortar Tank, know as the Wraith by the human troops. Shutting off the connection John looked ahead at the ridge of a small rise and saw that the forest ended just before it reached the rop. Slowly pushing his head over the ridge and grass John was instantly impressed by the carnage strewn over the plain. Hundreds of Covenant troops, vehicles and thousands of weapons lay haphazardly over the ground, many in the deep holes created by the now silent artillery pieces sitting deep within the base and the hastily laid minefields. A few hundred metres beyond the beginning of the death and destruction was the front line of Covenant troops now slowly advancing on the solid grey walls of Base 34. There were still hundreds of Covenant left as John quickly saw. At the front Grunts were throwing their small dog like bodies into the thick wall of fire erupting from the base walls taking the hits for their Elite commanders. Behind them Jackels and the lower ranked Elites crouched behind shields and advanced forwards all the while pouring plasma fire into the wall and towards the defenders on top who took the head off of any Elite unlucky enough to show it's head for more than a second with out cover. Behind this the were the Hunters with the shields held high covering them and the Elites commanding the attack. Suddenly the Hunter covering the gold Elite commander stopped as the concentrated fire of the two remaining turrets on the wall and about a dozen rifles plowed into it. Replying the Hunter and its bond brother volleyed off their attached fuel rod guns at the wall completely slagging the turrets and killing several more of the defending Marines. Looking at the wall John could see holes now forming in the lower parts as the plasma weapons began to burn their way through the final layer of fastcrete. On the top he could see the Marines throwing all they had down into the oncoming waves of Covenant and in the middle of it standing straight up was a black Marine throwing orders left and right while pouring his own stream of bullets into anything that moved in the field. For a split second he stopped and threw something at a Marine beside him and said something before returning to the task of killing Covenant. Meanwhile another Marine let go of his rifle and pulled out his pistol. Seeing this John opened up a channel and said, "Sargent Johnson, this is Spartan one one seven. Report."

On top of the wall Sargent Avery Johnson was not enjoying himself. He and his men had destroyed over half of the Covenant force including nearly all of their floating tanks but in doing so they had used up all of their anti armor weapons and the last of the turrets had just been destroyed. Now they were onto the last of their small arms ammunition and the situation was looking extremely grim. He hadn't even been able to call base for evac after the comms tower had been lost and their radio pack was destroyed.

"I'm out!" Shouted a young lanky Marine to Johnson's left.

Throwing one of his final magazines to the Marine Johnson told him, "Make every single shot count Jenkins." Looking back up he shouted to the Marines gathered on the wall. "It looks like we're not going to get out of this Marines, so lets take these bastards down to hell with us! Hooah!" No one replied as they knew that this was the end and each and every single one of them agreed with the Sargent. Beside him a Marine threw down his now empty rifle and pulled out his pistol taking careful aim the Marine pulled off two shots and a Grunt clad in orange armor at the base of the wall fell over. "Well done Bisenti. Now see if you can take out that Hunter." Johnson remarked in between the chattering of his own rifle.

"Aw Sarge." Bisenti moaned as he grinned for a split second, "Why do you always got to give me the tough jobs."

"Because you can't kiss ass, that's why."

Bisenti simply shrugged his shoulders quickly took out several more grunts before quickly reloading.

Suddenly Johnson's radio came to life, "_Sargent Johnson, this is Spartan one one seven. Report._" For a split second Johnson wondered what these Covenant had done wrong because he knew the Covenant had now lost this battle.

"Hello Chief. I was wondering if you had decided to just stroll here." Johnson replied. "As to how we are. We've got lots of wounded and the Covenant bastards are about a minute away from breaching the walls."

"_Understood. Stand by._" John replied before cutting the channel. Shouldering his rifle Sargent Johnson quickly went back to work.

On the ridge line John quickly took in the whole battlefield once more and slapped together a quick plan. Nowhere neat as he would've like but as usual there was just no time. "Here's what we're going to do." John said over the team channel but before he could continue Cortana half shouted half screamed into his ears,

"Chief!"

Suddenly the sky turned white and a massive shock wave of sound and air slammed into everyone and everything throwing them high into the air and back into the forest, but before the Chief could do anything his world went dark as he slammed into a tree at nearly a hundred kilometres an hour. Shattering the tree and knocking him unconscious.

Ship master Nok'Chee made his way quickly through the small and cramped halls surrounding the small ship docking bays deep within the planetoid High Charity the seat of power of the Covenant it had been mined out of the moon on which he Elites and Prophets first created the Covenant and on which the only known ship of the ancient and powerful Forerunner resided. Since that moment the High Charity had led he Covenant on its path to ascension from the front, even entering battle to strike down the unbelievers but at that very moment Nok'Chee didn't really care for the history held within the very wall of the corridors he walked, but instead on the message from an old friend of his family's line. Now storming through the corridors Nok'Chee didn't notice or care about the dozens of Grunts, Engineers, Jackles, even the other Elites that quickly scrambled out of his way as they saw the gold plated armor of his station. Barreling around the corner Nok'Chee slammed straight into a tall red robed figure. Without saying anything or even taking another breath Nok'Chee dropped to his knees hanging his head low. He immediately recognized what he had just done and knew his life was about to end but there was now nothing he could do. Standing in front of the near groveling Shipmaster the Elite High Councilor Freay'Tes simply stared at Nok'Chee. He wore, what was for an Elite, a scowl across his face and waited as he watched Nok'Chee recognize that he was still alive. Freay'Tes nearly smiled as Nok'Chee raised his head in the deadly silent hallway as he tried to figure out with the rest of the creatures lining the hallway why he was still alive. Seeing Nok'Chee's face Freay'Tes was impressed at how deftly Nok'Chee controlled what emotions he displayed, but after nearly a hundred years experience in battle and in politics Freay'Tes could see fear, hope, amazement and even a tiny bit of anger fight to be released. Nodding Frey'Tes waited as his two bodyguards stepped forward and grasped Nok'Chee firmly by each arm. "Shipmaster, do you know what you have done!" Freay'Tes demanded, playing the part of a Councilor in this moment.

Nok'Chee had dared to hope after seeing the face of the Elite he had been asked to see standing in front of him but that hope was instantly quashed as he realized that even if Councilor Freay'Tes wanted to spare his life the steps and procedures set down for this moment could not be bent in anyway to his knowledge. Hearing the question he now had to follow the path prescribed by millennia of law and culture. "Yes Excellency, I do understand what I have done." Nok'Chee said with the required reverence.

"Do you know and understand the penalty for this crime?" Freay'Tes continued.

"Yes Excellency I do know and understand the penalty."

"Then you will follow me for your punishment!" Freay'Tes shouted more for the gathered crowd than for Nok'Chee. Spinning around on one foot Freay'Tes led the way while Nok'Chee followed behind escorted by the bodyguards and with his head hung low in the way required, hiding the final destination from his sight and senses. Around him creatures stared immediately knowing what was about to happen but none out of the hundreds eventually passed could see who it was and they knew that they would never know since these executions were never held for show. Nok'Chee felt his guards come to a stop and opening his eyes he saw nothing but complete darkness.

"Welcome Shipmaster Nok'Chee" Boomed a deep and powerful voice that sounded from the darkness. "I appreciate your quick arrival." Suddenly the lights snapped on and Nok'Chee was disorientated for a moment until his eyes adjusted and he saw Freay'Tes sitting cheerfully in a grav-couch in front of him.

Nok'Chee stared at Freay'Tes trying furiously to figure out what was going on. The only idea that come to him was that this was some sort of cruel joke and that just as he relaxed he would be dead. So instead he redirected his head to the ground and waited for death.

Freay'Tes continued to smile as Nok'Chee fumbled with his thoughts trying to understand the situation that he had been thrust into but he couldn't wait for the Shipmaster to work up the courage to take a chance even if he was immensely enjoying his discomfort. "Shipmaster Nok'Chee stand to!" He barked and immediately saw Nok'Chee nearly leap to attention as his training took over completely.

--Reach--

The Duke grunted as the Pelican pulled up from its steep dive into the High Commands airspace. A recent gift from the UNSC the new Pelican had now taken over the mission of transporting the Duke between his planet and ship. Suddenly the pilot line came to life as the airspace controller spoke.

"_Ecaz Prime. Your approach vector is within parameters. Landing Pad Seven is clear and ready to accept your ship. Do not respond to this transmission. High Command Control out._"

As the transmission cut out the Duke was thrown forward roughly as the airbrakes were deployed stopping the Pelican in the small corridor of space it was cleared for. The Duke knew as did the pilot that if they strayed even a foot out of this corridor the Pelican would becoming a rapidly expanding fireball in a few seconds due to the importance of this place. Looking up as the G's bled off the Duke saw the monitor in front of him show Pad Seven directly under the belly of the Pelican. As the ship settled down on the pad the intercom sniked to life.

"_We have arrived M'Lord. I do apologize for the rough flight in but I did what I could within the limits that were set down._"

Smiling the Duke looked over to Michael who sat back in his seat looking distracted but he knew better. "Yes." Michael shot over before his Duke could say anything. "I know he'll never be happy with any landing he has while transporting you. Why do you think he was chosen."

"Well he doesn't have to apologize for every bit of turbulance we hit and everytime we pull more than one gravity." The Duke chichkled back sitting back in his seat until the Pelican finished landing.

Admiral Soven stood silently as the now bright yellow and black Pelican was lowered into the cavernous hanger that was the High Command airfield. The only other Pelican he knew of decorated in the same way just happened to be the secretary General's Pelican. Must be something to do with leaders he mused as the Pelican finally reached the floor and taxied over to her bay for her short stay on Reach. Waiting patiently Soven watched as the side hatch popped open and before anything could happen the Duke was on the ground followed by his 'mentat' as they called them. He had only met this mentat once but Soven already felt unnerved by these creatures. The stiff, almost robotic way they moved just didn't feel natural and the way they became suddenly detached from the situation didn't help the situation but he guessed that around eight thousand years without a sentient computer system did that to a civilization. "Welcome Duke Ecaz to Reach again." He said as the Duke walked up to him.

"Thank you Admiral. I think we should start heading off to the meeting now. I'd like to start it as soon as possible." He replied.

"Well the meeting has already begun but I'll run you and your adviser up to date as we go." Soven said gesturing to the elevator a short walk away. Oh, and may I complement your pilot on a very neat bit of flying up there. It was very smooth and I know the High Command transport sqadruran would like to have a chat with him."

The Duke smiled again as he heard this. "All the advantages of several millennia of selected breeding."

Stepping into the elevator simply smiled and filed the comment away for later, he still could not understand how someone could feel that selective breeding was ok but the Ecazians were a very different group and no one understood the Bene Gesserit and the information they did have just brought more questions. "Now to fill you in what has happened since our last communication with you." Soven said as the doors slid silently shut.

"Chief? Are you awake now?" John's head thundered as Cortana shouted urgently. Opening his eyes slowly John was greeted by darkness.

"Yes yes I'm awake. Now could you tell me what happened?" He asked as he moved his head to turn his helmet mounted flashlights on.

"Don't do that!" Cortana shouted urgently again.

Instantly checking the motion John finally noticed that his motion detector was off. Quietly berating himself for forgetting something so obvious he quickly turned his attention to the happenings at hand. "What is it Cortana?" He asked slowly.

Taking an audible breath Cortana replied "After you were knocked unconscious by the blast all hell broke loose. The comms were quickly flooded by what little was left communicating from the base. Unfortunately I was unable to read anything useful from it due to the static left over from the explosions. Then a few minutes later some strange looking ships landed at the base as several more landed near us. The people in them quickly covered us in some sort of sensor suppression blanket that also caused your shields to overload and shut off. I haven't been able to pick up anything since that happened just over twenty minutes ago."

"Were they human or Covenant?" John asked trying to piece together a new plan once again.

"Human, but not ours. If my information is correct than they're Ecazian Shocktroopers. If you could slowly move your left gauntlet out from under the blanket we should be able to get some information on what's going on out there." Cortana quickly suggested.

"Understood Cortana. Do you know where the closest weapon is?"

"If you mean a weapon that isn't you then the closest one is a MA5B a foot away from left gauntlet." Cortana tried to say helpfully.

Quietly acknowledging Cotana's reply John began to slowly inch his gauntlet over to the left so it's sensors would be able to tell them something useful. After several minutes John stopped as his motion detector came to life showing dots of yellow and grey movement around him. Waiting rigidly John remained still as a yellow friendly walked up to him flanked by two grey unknowns. Tensing his muscles John prepared to attack but as the blanket was ripped off he was met with a smiling face.

"I didn't know super soldiers and high tech ay-ayes got to have their beauty sleep when they felt like it." Sargent Johnson said with some amusement.

"Well you wouldn't like me when I'm tired Sargent." Cortana shot back in a friendly tone.

Getting to his feet John took a quick look around. He was surrounded by Ecazian troops moving through the forest attending to their jobs. Glancing around his eyes were drawn to some sort of large airplane squatting down in a clearing that was far to small for any standard airplane of its size. It was at least the size of three Pelicans stuck together in a row and two wide. At the back a ramp had been lowered and a line of people were moving into and out of it. Looking carefully John could see that the people were carrying dozens of stretchers on board weighted down by wounded soldiers. Moving his eyes along to the side of the plane John saw over a dozen Covenant prisoners cuffed together and lined up with several Ecazians watching them extremely closely. John even smiled a bit when he noticed a few freshly severed limbs lying down beside the Elites. A bit of payback he thought before pushing that thought out of his head. Looking back at the Sargent, John said, "Report Sargent."

Johnson's smile faltered and turned quickly into a scowl. We're in a bad shape Chief. If the Ecazians hadn't arrived we'd all be dead by now. Out of the base's two hundred and fifty men complement only twenty are in any shape to fight and they're all wounded to some degree or another and there are another thirty four wounded. The rest are dead. As to our rescue, that would be the work of Commander Trewtis Hegwy, Commanding officer of the Duke's Troshty Assault Regiment." He finished pointing to a tall man dressed in a simple camouflage pattern with no markers of rank or position anywhere.

"Master Chief." Trewtis said sharply. "It's unfortunate that we had to meet under these circumstances. My standing orders were to assist any UNSC forces that I could and after hearing Sargent Johnson's distress call we came to assist. My forward aerial attack flight arrived here quickest and we unfortunately bombed close to your position. I offer you my apologies but we didn't know you were there."

"Understood. Commander." John replied through his helmet speakers but before he could continued Cortana spoke to him.

"Chief, I'm picking up a couple of faint Spartan beacons. It looks like everyone was knocked out and had those blankets placed over them."

"Very well." John replied trying to open up a com channel to the rest of the squad but after several attempts Cortana spoke up again.

"It looks like the signal is to weak to open up a channel. I'll hack away at it. I'll also suggest we get out of here now."

Letting Cortana try and coax a link out of the signal John continued his look around. Over in another clearing he saw the saddening sight of dozens of body bags being filled and tagged with young the young Marines that had died in the battle. At least they would be buried unlike countless other thousand that had had to be left on planets while the Covenant turned them into glass. Moving his eyes again John saw a blanket laying over a Spartan. The blanket was smooth to the eyes, was a deep black and blended indistinguishably into the background emission's that his armor picked up. Looking back at Trewtis John asked, "Commander Trewtis. What are those blankets?"

"Those would be life blankets Master Chief." Trewtis replied. "Fairly standard equipment especially when behind enemy lines and in escape packs. They block a wearers lifesigns from any sort of scanner. That was also what you were covered with. I had my men cover your unconscious form with them as we had more urgent things to do at the time and your bulk isn't easy to move around."

"Could you have them removed." John asked.

"As you wish Master Chief." Trewtis replied sending off a hand signal to one of his officers.

Several seconds later John was relieved to see lights blinking in his heads up as Cortana jumped over him and asked the Spartans if they were okay. "_Apologies for the nap Chief._" Fred radioed over the team channel.

"_Make sure you get enough sleep next time._" Jack radioed back.

"Alright that's enough." John radioed. "Check each other out and be ready to move off at any time." After waiting for the lights to flash in his heads up for each confirmation John returned his attention to the Commander but a new voice radioed in on a tightbeam transmission before he could do anything.

"_Master Chief. This is Sarah. We're presently in the treeline two hundred metres downspin of your location. We have tried to get a sitrep out of the Marines but have been unable to make contact.. Request instructions."_ Sarah said.

"Situation is safe. Get here as soon as you can. We'll be moving out soon." John replied. Looking back at Trewtis he asked. "So what are our plans now Commander?"

"After consulting with Sargent Johnson I felt it best to evacuate everyone and thing we can to the regional fort. The first transports with the wounded have already left and we're currently loading up the remaining supplies, dead and prisoners. That should be done within the next ten minutes. At which point we'll leave. After which I'll spare anything I can to help your squad in whatever your mission is. As per my standing orders."

"Still sounds like a good plan." Johnson said.

Wanting to return to his mission John knew that it would unfortunately have to wait until they had arrived at the regional base at which point he could get a better understanding on what was going on and plan the rest of the mission more completely.


End file.
